abfallenvsAnfälleWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: abfallen is a verb, Anfälle is a noun, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“abfallen” is a verb and “Anfälle” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#36,766
“abfallen” frequency rank
#29,919
“Anfälle” frequency rank
66685
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature abfallen Anfälle
Definition sich von etwas lösen und herunterfallen Nominativ Plural des Substantivs Anfall

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set abfallen and Anfälle apart are highlighted. They share 5 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

8 ch
abfallen
7 ch
Anfälle

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: abfallen is [ˈapˌfalən] while Anfälle is [ˈanˌfɛlə]. 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 (verb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 66685, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

abfallen is recorded at frequency rank #36,766, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈapˌfalən]. Anfälle is at rank #29,919, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈanˌfɛlə].

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 66685, this pair ranks #564,957 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of abfallen vs Anfälle

Shared letters: aefln. Private to "abfallen": b. Private to "Anfälle": ä.

"abfallen" · 8 letters · shape VCCVCCVC  ·  "Anfälle" · 7 letters · shape VCCVCCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • abfallenabafllen · abbfallen · abfaleln · abfalen · abfallenn · abfallne · abffallen · abflalen

Frequency comparison

abfallen#36,766
Anfälle#29,919

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "abfallen" and "Anfälle" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "abfallen" is a verb and "Anfälle" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "abfallen" or "Anfälle"?
"Anfälle" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #29,919 in our German list, against #36,766 for "abfallen". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering abfallen vs Anfälle

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a verb, it's “abfallen”; for a noun, it's “Anfälle”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “abfallen” 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