Which to use
“gelingen” is a verb and “gelungene” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #5,836
- “gelingen” frequency rank
- #10,857
- “gelungene” frequency rank
- 16693
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | gelingen | gelungene |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | etwas erfolgreich zu Ende bringen, erfolgreich zustande kommen | Nominativ Singular Femininum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs gelungen |
Where the eye mixes gelingen and gelungene
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence. gelingen runs 8 letters (CVCVCCVC) against gelungene's 9 (CVCVCCVCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses gelingen with gelungene
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: gelingen is [ɡəˈlɪŋən] while gelungene is [ɡəˈlʊŋənə]. 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 (verb vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 16693, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
gelingen is recorded at frequency rank #5,836, classified as averb, pronounced [ɡəˈlɪŋən]. gelungene is at rank #10,857, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ɡəˈlʊŋənə].
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 16693, this pair ranks #1,933,746 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of gelingen vs gelungene
Shared letters: egln. Private to "gelingen": i. Private to "gelungene": u.
"gelingen" · 8 letters · shape CVCVCCVC · "gelungene" · 9 letters · shape CVCVCCVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "gelingen" and "gelungene" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Which is more common, "gelingen" or "gelungene"?
Useful next steps
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "gelingen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "gelungene" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,933,746 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "gelingen" and "gelungene" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "gegangene vs gelungene". 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 #1,933,746 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.