gepenntvsgeranntWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

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

#41,193
“gepennt” frequency rank
#17,592
“gerannt” frequency rank
58785
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature gepennt gerannt
Definition Partizip Perfekt des Verbs pennen Partizip Perfekt des Verbs rennen

Where the eye mixes gepennt and gerannt

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. gepennt and gerannt follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (CVCVCCC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.

7 ch
gepennt
7 ch
gerannt

Visual trap between gepennt and gerannt

A purely visual mix-up. gepennt ([ɡəˈpɛnt]) and gerannt ([ɡəˈʁant]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 58785, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

gepennt is recorded at frequency rank #41,193, classified as averb, pronounced [ɡəˈpɛnt]. gerannt is at rank #17,592, tagged as averb, pronounced [ɡəˈʁant].

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 58785, this pair ranks #849,416 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of gepennt vs gerannt

Shared letters: egnt. Private to "gepennt": p. Private to "gerannt": ar.

"gepennt" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCCC  ·  "gerannt" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • gepenntegpennt · geepnnt · gepenntt · gepent · gepentn · gepnent · geppennt · ggepennt
  • geranntegrannt · gearnnt · geranntt · gerant · gerantn · gernant · gerrannt · ggerannt

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "gepennt" for "gerannt" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([ɡəˈpɛnt] versus [ɡəˈʁant]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "gepennt" vs "gerannt" - which ranks higher?
"gerannt" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #17,592 in our German list, against #41,193 for "gepennt". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

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 "gepennt" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "gerannt" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #849,416 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "gepennt" and "gerannt" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "gedehnt vs gepennt". 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 #849,416 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