geltendevsgeltendemConfusable pair

Which to use

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

#13,148
“geltende” frequency rank
#49,708
“geltendem” frequency rank
62856
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature geltende geltendem
Definition Nominativ Singular Femininum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs geltend Dativ Singular Maskulinum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs geltend

Where the eye mixes geltende and geltendem

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 8 letters in sequence. geltende runs 8 letters (CVCCVCCV) against geltendem's 9 (CVCCVCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

8 ch
geltende
9 ch
geltendem

Why the eye confuses geltende with geltendem

A purely visual mix-up. geltende ([ˈɡɛltn̩də]) and geltendem ([ˈɡɛltn̩dəm]) 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 1 extra letter(s) - “geltende” sits inside “geltendem”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 62856, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

geltende is recorded at frequency rank #13,148, classified as anadj, pronounced [ˈɡɛltn̩də]. geltendem is at rank #49,708, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ˈɡɛltn̩dəm].

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 62856, this pair ranks #697,725 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of geltende vs geltendem

Shared letters: deglnt. Private to "geltende": -. Private to "geltendem": m.

"geltende" · 8 letters · shape CVCCVCCV  ·  "geltendem" · 9 letters · shape CVCCVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • geltende ← egltende · geletnde · gelltende · geltedne · geltendde · geltened · geltennde · geltnede
  • geltendem ← egltendem · geletndem · gelltendem · geltednem · geltenddem · geltendemm · geltendme · geltenedm

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "geltende" and "geltendem" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ˈɡɛltn̩də] versus [ˈɡɛltn̩dəm]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "geltende" or "geltendem"?
"geltende" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #13,148 in our German list, against #49,708 for "geltendem". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

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

  • Full dictionary entry for "geltende" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "geltendem" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #697,725 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "geltende" and "geltendem" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "geltendem vs geltendes". 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 #697,725 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