gesunkenvsgetrunkenWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

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

#8,212
“gesunken” frequency rank
#4,891
“getrunken” frequency rank
13103
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature gesunken getrunken
Definition Partizip Perfekt des Verbs sinken Partizip Perfekt des Verbs trinken

Where the eye mixes gesunken and getrunken

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence. gesunken runs 8 letters (CVCVCCVC) against getrunken's 9 (CVCCVCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

8 ch
gesunken
9 ch
getrunken

Look-alike desk: gesunken vs getrunken

A purely visual mix-up. gesunken ([ɡəˈzʊŋkn̩]) and getrunken ([ɡəˈtʁʊŋkn̩]) 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 13103, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

gesunken is recorded at frequency rank #8,212, classified as averb, pronounced [ɡəˈzʊŋkn̩]. getrunken is at rank #4,891, tagged as averb, pronounced [ɡəˈtʁʊŋkn̩].

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 13103, this pair ranks #1,960,106 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of gesunken vs getrunken

Shared letters: egknu. Private to "gesunken": s. Private to "getrunken": rt.

"gesunken" · 8 letters · shape CVCVCCVC  ·  "getrunken" · 9 letters · shape CVCCVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • gesunkenegsunken · gesnuken · gessunken · gesuknen · gesunekn · gesunkenn · gesunkken · gesunkne
  • getrunkenegtrunken · gertunken · getrnuken · getrrunken · getruknen · getrunekn · getrunkenn · getrunkken

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "gesunken" and "getrunken" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ɡəˈzʊŋkn̩] versus [ɡəˈtʁʊŋkn̩]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "gesunken" vs "getrunken" - which ranks higher?
"getrunken" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #4,891 in our German list, against #8,212 for "gesunken". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

Eye-level mix-up between "gesunken" and "getrunken" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.

  • Full dictionary entry for "gesunken" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "getrunken" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,960,106 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "gesunken" and "getrunken" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Gemünden vs gesunken". 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 #1,960,106 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