GelenkevsGewerkeWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

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

#19,922
“Gelenke” frequency rank
#49,734
“Gewerke” frequency rank
69656
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Gelenke Gewerke
Definition Variante für den Dativ Singular des Substantivs Gelenk Anteilseigner im Bergbau

Where the eye mixes Gelenke and Gewerke

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. Gelenke and Gewerke follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (CVCVCCV). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.

7 ch
Gelenke
7 ch
Gewerke

Why the eye confuses Gelenke with Gewerke

A purely visual mix-up. Gelenke ([ɡəˈlɛŋkə]) and Gewerke ([ɡəˈvɛʁkə]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 69656, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Gelenke is recorded at frequency rank #19,922, classified as anoun, pronounced [ɡəˈlɛŋkə]. Gewerke is at rank #49,734, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ɡəˈvɛʁkə].

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 69656, this pair ranks #469,906 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of Gelenke vs Gewerke

Shared letters: egk. Private to "Gelenke": ln. Private to "Gewerke": rw.

"Gelenke" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCCV  ·  "Gewerke" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Gelenkeeglenke · geelnke · gelekne · gelenek · gelenkke · gelennke · gellenke · gelneke
  • Gewerkeegwerke · geewrke · gewekre · gewerek · gewerkke · gewerrke · gewreke · gewwerke

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "Gelenke" for "Gewerke" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([ɡəˈlɛŋkə] versus [ɡəˈvɛʁkə]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "Gelenke" vs "Gewerke" - which ranks higher?
"Gelenke" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #19,922 in our German list, against #49,734 for "Gewerke". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Useful next steps

Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.

  • Full dictionary entry for "Gelenke" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Gewerke" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #469,906 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Gelenke" and "Gewerke" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Gewerbes vs Gewerke". 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 #469,906 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