Which to use
“gelegten” is an adjective and “gelten” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #39,961
- “gelegten” frequency rank
- #1,353
- “gelten” frequency rank
- 41314
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | gelegten | gelten |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Genitiv Singular Maskulinum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs gelegt | gültig, verbindlich sein |
Where the eye mixes gelegten and gelten
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. gelegten runs 8 letters (CVCVCCVC) against gelten's 6 (CVCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses gelegten with gelten
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: gelegten is [ɡəˈleːktn̩] while gelten is [ˈɡɛltn̩]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 2 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (adjective vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 41314, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
gelegten is recorded at frequency rank #39,961, classified as anadj, pronounced [ɡəˈleːktn̩]. gelten is at rank #1,353, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈɡɛltn̩].
Glosses for this pair are partially populated in our dataset, but the full side-by-side definitions above should still guide you to the right choice.
With a confusion score of 41314, this pair ranks #1,483,162 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of gelegten vs gelten
Shared letters: eglnt. Private to "gelegten": -. Private to "gelten": -.
"gelegten" · 8 letters · shape CVCVCCVC · "gelten" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "gelegten" and "gelten" mean the same thing in a sentence?
In ordinary German text, does "gelegten" or "gelten" show up more?
What to do next
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "gelegten" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "gelten" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,483,162 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "gelegten" and "gelten" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "gelegten vs gelobten". Nearby pair
- Recorded mistypes exist for at least one side of this pair, useful when a spell-checker or OCR lands on the wrong form. See mistypes
Confusion rank #1,483,162 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.