geratenvsgetragenWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

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

#3,124
“geraten” frequency rank
#2,721
“getragen” frequency rank
5845
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature geraten getragen
Definition zufällig/ ohne Absicht an den falschen Ort oder in eine unangenehme Situation kommen Partizip Perfekt des Verbs tragen

Where the eye mixes geraten and getragen

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence.

7 ch
geraten
8 ch
getragen

Look-alike desk: geraten vs getragen

A purely visual mix-up. geraten ([ɡəˈʁaːtn̩]) and getragen ([ɡəˈtʁaːɡn̩]) 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 5845, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

geraten is recorded at frequency rank #3,124, classified as averb, pronounced [ɡəˈʁaːtn̩]. getragen is at rank #2,721, tagged as averb, pronounced [ɡəˈtʁaːɡn̩].

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 5845, this pair ranks #1,993,525 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of geraten vs getragen

Shared letters: aegnrt. Private to "geraten": -. Private to "getragen": -.

"geraten" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCVC  ·  "getragen" · 8 letters · shape CVCCVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • geratenegraten · gearten · geraetn · geratenn · geratne · geratten · gerraten · gertaen
  • getragenegtragen · gertagen · getargen · getraegn · getragenn · getraggen · getragne · getrgaen

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "geraten" for "getragen" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([ɡəˈʁaːtn̩] versus [ɡəˈtʁaːɡn̩]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "geraten" vs "getragen" - which ranks higher?
"getragen" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #2,721 in our German list, against #3,124 for "geraten". 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 "geraten" and "getragen" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.

  • Full dictionary entry for "geraten" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "getragen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,993,525 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "geraten" and "getragen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "getragen vs getreuen". 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 #1,993,525 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