Which to use
“geschlossene” is an adjective and “geschossen” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #7,325
- “geschlossene” frequency rank
- #4,795
- “geschossen” frequency rank
- 12120
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | geschlossene | geschossen |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Nominativ Singular Femininum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs geschlossen | Partizip Perfekt des Verbs schießen |
Where the eye mixes geschlossene and geschossen
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 10 letters in sequence. geschlossene runs 12 letters (CVCCCCVCCVCV) against geschossen's 10 (CVCCCVCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Look-alike desk: geschlossene vs geschossen
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: geschlossene is [ɡəˈʃlɔsənə] while geschossen is [ɡəˈʃɔsn̩]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 2 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (adjective vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 12120, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
geschlossene is recorded at frequency rank #7,325, classified as anadj, pronounced [ɡəˈʃlɔsənə]. geschossen is at rank #4,795, tagged as averb, pronounced [ɡəˈʃɔsn̩].
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 12120, this pair ranks #1,966,070 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of geschlossene vs geschossen
Shared letters: ceghnos. Private to "geschlossene": l. Private to "geschossen": -.
"geschlossene" · 12 letters · shape CVCCCCVCCVCV · "geschossen" · 10 letters · shape CVCCCVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- geschlossene ← egschlossene · gecshlossene · gescchlossene · geschhlossene · geschllossene · geschlosene · geschlosesne · geschlosseen
- geschossen ← egschossen · gecshossen · gescchossen · geschhossen · geschosen · geschosesn · geschossenn · geschossne
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "geschlossene" and "geschossen" mean the same thing in a sentence?
In ordinary German text, does "geschlossene" or "geschossen" show up more?
After this comparison
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "geschlossene" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "geschossen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,966,070 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "geschlossene" and "geschossen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "geschlossene vs geschlossenem". 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 #1,966,070 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.