Which to use
“gelinde” is an adjective and “gelingen” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #33,073
- “gelinde” frequency rank
- #5,836
- “gelingen” frequency rank
- 38909
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | gelinde | gelingen |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | von geringer Stärke | etwas erfolgreich zu Ende bringen, erfolgreich zustande kommen |
Where the eye mixes gelinde and gelingen
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. gelinde runs 7 letters (CVCVCCV) against gelingen's 8 (CVCVCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Visual trap between gelinde and gelingen
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: gelinde is [ɡəˈlɪndə] while gelingen is [ɡəˈlɪŋən]. 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 (adjective vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 38909, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
gelinde is recorded at frequency rank #33,073, classified as anadj, pronounced [ɡəˈlɪndə]. gelingen is at rank #5,836, tagged as averb, pronounced [ɡəˈlɪŋən].
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 38909, this pair ranks #1,551,379 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of gelinde vs gelingen
Shared letters: egiln. Private to "gelinde": d. Private to "gelingen": -.
"gelinde" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCCV · "gelingen" · 8 letters · shape CVCVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "gelinde" and "gelingen" be used interchangeably?
In ordinary German text, does "gelinde" or "gelingen" show up more?
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 "gelinde" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "gelingen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,551,379 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "gelinde" and "gelingen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "gelinde vs Gerlinde". 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 #1,551,379 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.