GesetzenvsgesetztenWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: Gesetzen is a noun, gesetzten is an adjective, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“Gesetzen” is a noun and “gesetzten” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#7,326
“Gesetzen” frequency rank
#13,845
“gesetzten” frequency rank
21171
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Gesetzen gesetzten
Definition Dativ Plural des Substantivs Gesetz Genitiv Singular Maskulinum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs gesetzt

Where the eye mixes Gesetzen and gesetzten

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 8 letters in sequence. Gesetzen runs 8 letters (CVCVCCVC) against gesetzten's 9 (CVCVCCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

8 ch
Gesetzen
9 ch
gesetzten

Visual trap between Gesetzen and gesetzten

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: Gesetzen is [ɡəˈzɛt͡sn̩] while gesetzten is [ɡəˈzɛt͡stn̩]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 21171, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Gesetzen is recorded at frequency rank #7,326, classified as anoun, pronounced [ɡəˈzɛt͡sn̩]. gesetzten is at rank #13,845, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ɡəˈzɛt͡stn̩].

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 21171, this pair ranks #1,889,356 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of Gesetzen vs gesetzten

Shared letters: egnstz. Private to "Gesetzen": -. Private to "gesetzten": -.

"Gesetzen" · 8 letters · shape CVCVCCVC  ·  "gesetzten" · 9 letters · shape CVCVCCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Gesetzen ← egsetzen · geestzen · gesetezn · gesettzen · gesetzenn · gesetzne · gesetzzen · gesezten
  • gesetzten ← egsetzten · geestzten · gesettzten · gesetzetn · gesetztenn · gesetztne · gesetztten · gesetzzten

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "Gesetzen" for "gesetzten" ever safe?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "Gesetzen" is a noun and "gesetzten" an adjective, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "Gesetzen" or "gesetzten"?
"Gesetzen" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #7,326 in our German list, against #13,845 for "gesetzten". 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 "Gesetzen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "gesetzten" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,889,356 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Gesetzen" and "gesetzten" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Gemetzel vs Gesetzen". 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 #1,889,356 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