GelenkvsGelenkeTell them apart

Which to use

“Gelenk” and “Gelenke” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#23,533
“Gelenk” frequency rank
#19,922
“Gelenke” frequency rank
43455
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Gelenk Gelenke
Definition bewegliche Verbindung von Knochen Variante für den Dativ Singular des Substantivs Gelenk

Where the eye mixes Gelenk and Gelenke

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence.

6 ch
Gelenk
7 ch
Gelenke

Visual trap between Gelenk and Gelenke

A purely visual mix-up. Gelenk ([ɡəˈlɛŋk]) and Gelenke ([ɡəˈlɛŋkə]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they differ by 1 extra letter(s) - “Gelenk” sits inside “Gelenke”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 43455, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Gelenk is recorded at frequency rank #23,533, classified as anoun, pronounced [ɡəˈlɛŋk]. Gelenke is at rank #19,922, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ɡəˈlɛŋkə].

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 43455, this pair ranks #1,417,554 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of Gelenk vs Gelenke

Shared letters: egkln. Private to "Gelenk": -. Private to "Gelenke": -.

"Gelenk" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCC  ·  "Gelenke" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Gelenkeglenk · geelnk · gelekn · gelenkk · gelennk · gellenk · gelnek · ggelenk
  • Gelenkeeglenke · geelnke · gelekne · gelenek · gelenkke · gelennke · gellenke · gelneke

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "Gelenk" for "Gelenke" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([ɡəˈlɛŋk] versus [ɡəˈlɛŋkə]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "Gelenk" vs "Gelenke" - which ranks higher?
"Gelenke" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #19,922 in our German list, against #23,533 for "Gelenk". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

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 "Gelenk" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Gelenke" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,417,554 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Gelenk" and "Gelenke" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "geleakt vs Gelenk". 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 #1,417,554 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list