gültigenvsgünstigenWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#9,038
“gültigen” frequency rank
#6,433
“günstigen” frequency rank
15471
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature gültigen günstigen
Definition Genitiv Singular Maskulinum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs gültig Genitiv Singular Maskulinum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs günstig

Where the eye mixes gültigen and günstigen

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

8 ch
gültigen
9 ch
günstigen

Why the eye confuses gültigen with günstigen

A purely visual mix-up. gültigen ([ˈɡʏltɪɡn̩]) and günstigen ([ˈɡʏnstɪɡn̩]) 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 15471, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

gültigen is recorded at frequency rank #9,038, classified as anadj, pronounced [ˈɡʏltɪɡn̩]. günstigen is at rank #6,433, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ˈɡʏnstɪɡn̩].

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 15471, this pair ranks #1,943,613 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of gültigen vs günstigen

Shared letters: egintü. Private to "gültigen": l. Private to "günstigen": s.

"gültigen" · 8 letters · shape CVCCVCVC  ·  "günstigen" · 9 letters · shape CVCCCVCVC

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "gültigen" for "günstigen" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([ˈɡʏltɪɡn̩] versus [ˈɡʏnstɪɡn̩]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "gültigen" vs "günstigen" - which ranks higher?
"günstigen" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #6,433 in our German list, against #9,038 for "gültigen". 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 "gültigen" and "günstigen" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.

  • Full dictionary entry for "gültigen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "günstigen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,943,613 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "gültigen" and "günstigen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "gültigen vs gültiger". Nearby pair

Confusion rank #1,943,613 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