gesprochenvsgesprocheneWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: gesprochen is a verb, gesprochene is an adjective, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“gesprochen” is a verb and “gesprochene” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#1,553
“gesprochen” frequency rank
#25,571
“gesprochene” frequency rank
27124
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature gesprochen gesprochene
Definition Partizip Perfekt des Verbs sprechen Nominativ Singular Femininum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs gesprochen

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set gesprochen and gesprochene apart are highlighted. They share 10 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

10 ch
gesprochen
11 ch
gesprochene

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: gesprochen is [ɡəˈʃpʁɔxn̩] while gesprochene is [ɡəˈʃpʁɔxənə]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 extra letter(s) - “gesprochen” sits inside “gesprochene”, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 27124, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

gesprochen is recorded at frequency rank #1,553, classified as averb, pronounced [ɡəˈʃpʁɔxn̩]. gesprochene is at rank #25,571, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ɡəˈʃpʁɔxənə].

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 27124, this pair ranks #1,806,971 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of gesprochen vs gesprochene

Shared letters: ceghnoprs. Private to "gesprochen": -. Private to "gesprochene": -.

"gesprochen" · 10 letters · shape CVCCCVCCVC  ·  "gesprochene" · 11 letters · shape CVCCCVCCVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • gesprochenegsprochen · gepsrochen · gesporchen · gespprochen · gesprcohen · gesprocchen · gesprocehn · gesprochenn
  • gesprocheneegsprochene · gepsrochene · gesporchene · gespprochene · gesprcohene · gesprocchene · gesprocehne · gesprocheen

Frequency comparison

gesprochen#1,553
gesprochene#25,571

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "gesprochen" and "gesprochene" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "gesprochen" is a verb and "gesprochene" an adjective, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "gesprochen" or "gesprochene"?
"gesprochen" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #1,553 in our German list, against #25,571 for "gesprochene". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

Remembering gesprochen vs gesprochene

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a verb, it's “gesprochen”; for an adjective, it's “gesprochene”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “gesprochen” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list