Which to use
“gelungen” is an adjective and “gerungen” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #3,315
- “gelungen” frequency rank
- #43,214
- “gerungen” frequency rank
- 46529
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | gelungen | gerungen |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | rückblickend betrachtet: positive Erwartung vollständig erfüllend, mit ganz und gar gutem Ergebnis | Partizip Perfekt des Verbs ringen |
Where the eye mixes gelungen and gerungen
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence. gelungen and gerungen follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (CVCVCCVC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.
Why the eye confuses gelungen with gerungen
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: gelungen is [ɡəˈlʊŋən] while gerungen is [ɡəˈʁʊŋən]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by a single letter - l in “gelungen” becomes r in “gerungen”, and the parts of speech differ too (adjective vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 46529, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
gelungen is recorded at frequency rank #3,315, classified as anadj, pronounced [ɡəˈlʊŋən]. gerungen is at rank #43,214, tagged as averb, pronounced [ɡəˈʁʊŋən].
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 46529, this pair ranks #1,315,927 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of gelungen vs gerungen
Shared letters: egnu. Private to "gelungen": l. Private to "gerungen": r.
"gelungen" · 8 letters · shape CVCVCCVC · "gerungen" · 8 letters · shape CVCVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "gelungen" and "gerungen" be used interchangeably?
Frequency check: "gelungen" vs "gerungen" - which ranks higher?
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 "gelungen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "gerungen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,315,927 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "gelungen" and "gerungen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Gemünden vs gerungen". 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 #1,315,927 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.