Which to use
“Gelenk” is a noun and “gesenkt” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #23,533
- “Gelenk” frequency rank
- #10,665
- “gesenkt” frequency rank
- 34198
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | Gelenk | gesenkt |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | bewegliche Verbindung von Knochen | Partizip Perfekt des Verbs senken |
Where the eye mixes Gelenk and gesenkt
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. Gelenk runs 6 letters (CVCVCC) against gesenkt's 7 (CVCVCCC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses Gelenk with gesenkt
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: Gelenk is [ɡəˈlɛŋk] while gesenkt is [ɡəˈzɛŋkt]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 34198, 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]. gesenkt is at rank #10,665, tagged as averb, pronounced [ɡəˈzɛŋkt].
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 34198, this pair ranks #1,668,855 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of Gelenk vs gesenkt
Shared letters: egkn. Private to "Gelenk": l. Private to "gesenkt": st.
"Gelenk" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCC · "gesenkt" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCCC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "Gelenk" and "gesenkt" be used interchangeably?
In ordinary German text, does "Gelenk" or "gesenkt" show up more?
After this comparison
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "Gelenk" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "gesenkt" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,668,855 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "Gelenk" and "gesenkt" 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 #1,668,855 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.