GelenkvsGelenkenWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#23,533
“Gelenk” frequency rank
#38,766
“Gelenken” frequency rank
62299
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Gelenk Gelenken
Definition bewegliche Verbindung von Knochen Dativ Plural des Substantivs Gelenk

Where the eye mixes Gelenk and Gelenken

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. Gelenk runs 6 letters (CVCVCC) against Gelenken's 8 (CVCVCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

6 ch
Gelenk
8 ch
Gelenken

Look-alike desk: Gelenk vs Gelenken

A purely visual mix-up. Gelenk ([ɡəˈlɛŋk]) and Gelenken ([ɡəˈlɛŋkn̩]) 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 2 extra letter(s) - “Gelenk” sits inside “Gelenken”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 62299, 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]. Gelenken is at rank #38,766, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ɡəˈlɛŋkn̩].

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 62299, this pair ranks #718,015 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of Gelenk vs Gelenken

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

"Gelenk" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCC  ·  "Gelenken" · 8 letters · shape CVCVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Gelenkeglenk · geelnk · gelekn · gelenkk · gelennk · gellenk · gelnek · ggelenk
  • Gelenkeneglenken · geelnken · geleknen · gelenekn · gelenkenn · gelenkken · gelenkne · gelennken

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "Gelenk" and "Gelenken" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ɡəˈlɛŋk] versus [ɡəˈlɛŋkn̩]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "Gelenk" vs "Gelenken" - which ranks higher?
"Gelenk" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #23,533 in our German list, against #38,766 for "Gelenken". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Useful next steps

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 "Gelenken" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #718,015 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Gelenk" and "Gelenken" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "gelebten vs Gelenken". 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 #718,015 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