AnfallvsAnfälleWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

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

#15,022
“Anfall” frequency rank
#29,919
“Anfälle” frequency rank
44941
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Anfall Anfälle
Definition plötzliches, heftiges Auftreten einer Krankheit Nominativ Plural des Substantivs Anfall

Where the eye mixes Anfall and Anfälle

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. Anfall runs 6 letters (VCCVCC) against Anfälle's 7 (VCCVCCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

6 ch
Anfall
7 ch
Anfälle

Visual trap between Anfall and Anfälle

A purely visual mix-up. Anfall ([ˈanˌfal]) and Anfälle ([ˈanˌfɛlə]) 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 44941, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Anfall is recorded at frequency rank #15,022, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈanˌfal]. 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 44941, this pair ranks #1,369,640 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of Anfall vs Anfälle

Shared letters: afln. Private to "Anfall": -. Private to "Anfälle": eä.

"Anfall" · 6 letters · shape VCCVCC  ·  "Anfälle" · 7 letters · shape VCCVCCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Anfall ← afnall · anafll · anfal · anffall · anflal · annfall · nafall

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "Anfall" for "Anfälle" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([ˈanˌfal] versus [ˈanˌfɛlə]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "Anfall" or "Anfälle"?
"Anfall" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #15,022 in our German list, against #29,919 for "Anfälle". 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 "Anfall" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Anfälle" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,369,640 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Anfall" and "Anfälle" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "anale vs Anfälle". 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 #1,369,640 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