gewaltsamvsgewaltsamenTell them apart

Which to use

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

#12,928
“gewaltsam” frequency rank
#18,269
“gewaltsamen” frequency rank
31197
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature gewaltsam gewaltsamen
Definition unter Anwendung von Gewalt, Gewalt ausführend Genitiv Singular Maskulinum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs gewaltsam

Where the eye mixes gewaltsam and gewaltsamen

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 9 letters in sequence. gewaltsam runs 9 letters (CVCVCCCVC) against gewaltsamen's 11 (CVCVCCCVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

9 ch
gewaltsam
11 ch
gewaltsamen

Look-alike desk: gewaltsam vs gewaltsamen

A purely visual mix-up. gewaltsam ([ɡəˈvaltzaːm]) and gewaltsamen ([ɡəˈvaltzaːmən]) 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 2 extra letter(s) - “gewaltsam” sits inside “gewaltsamen”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 31197, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

gewaltsam is recorded at frequency rank #12,928, classified as anadj, pronounced [ɡəˈvaltzaːm]. gewaltsamen is at rank #18,269, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ɡəˈvaltzaːmən].

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 31197, this pair ranks #1,732,920 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of gewaltsam vs gewaltsamen

Shared letters: aeglmstw. Private to "gewaltsam": -. Private to "gewaltsamen": n.

"gewaltsam" · 9 letters · shape CVCVCCCVC  ·  "gewaltsamen" · 11 letters · shape CVCVCCCVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • gewaltsam ← egwaltsam · geawltsam · gewalltsam · gewalstam · gewaltasm · gewaltsamm · gewaltsma · gewaltssam
  • gewaltsamen ← egwaltsamen · geawltsamen · gewalltsamen · gewalstamen · gewaltasmen · gewaltsaemn · gewaltsamenn · gewaltsammen

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "gewaltsam" and "gewaltsamen" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([ɡəˈvaltzaːm] versus [ɡəˈvaltzaːmən]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "gewaltsam" or "gewaltsamen"?
"gewaltsam" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #12,928 in our German list, against #18,269 for "gewaltsamen". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

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 "gewaltsam" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "gewaltsamen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,732,920 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "gewaltsam" and "gewaltsamen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "gewaltsam vs Gewalttat". 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 #1,732,920 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