genügenvsgerungenTell them apart

Which to use

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

#10,479
“genügen” frequency rank
#43,214
“gerungen” frequency rank
53693
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature genügen gerungen
Definition für einen bestimmten Zweck in ausreichendem Maß zur Verfügung stehen Partizip Perfekt des Verbs ringen

Where the eye mixes genügen and gerungen

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. genügen runs 7 letters (CVCVCVC) against gerungen's 8 (CVCVCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

7 ch
genügen
8 ch
gerungen

Look-alike desk: genügen vs gerungen

A purely visual mix-up. genügen ([ɡəˈnyːɡn̩]) and gerungen ([ɡəˈʁʊŋən]) 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 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 53693, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

genügen is recorded at frequency rank #10,479, classified as averb, pronounced [ɡəˈnyːɡn̩]. 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 53693, this pair ranks #1,048,073 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of genügen vs gerungen

Shared letters: egn. Private to "genügen": ü. Private to "gerungen": ru.

"genügen" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCVC  ·  "gerungen" · 8 letters · shape CVCVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • gerungenegrungen · gernugen · gerrungen · gerugnen · gerunegn · gerungenn · gerunggen · gerungne

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "genügen" and "gerungen" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([ɡəˈnyːɡn̩] versus [ɡəˈʁʊŋən]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "genügen" or "gerungen"?
"genügen" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #10,479 in our German list, against #43,214 for "gerungen". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Useful next steps

Eye-level mix-up between "genügen" and "gerungen" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.

  • Full dictionary entry for "genügen" 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 #1,048,073 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "genügen" 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 #1,048,073 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