entfielenvsentziehenWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#23,109
“entfielen” frequency rank
#8,196
“entziehen” frequency rank
31305
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature entfielen entziehen
Definition 1. Person Plural Indikativ Präteritum Aktiv des Verbs entfallen (ein Recht oder eine Erlaubnis) wegnehmen

Where the eye mixes entfielen and entziehen

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence.

9 ch
entfielen
9 ch
entziehen

Look-alike desk: entfielen vs entziehen

A purely visual mix-up. entfielen ([ɛntˈfiːlən]) and entziehen ([ɛntˈt͡siːən]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 31305, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

entfielen is recorded at frequency rank #23,109, classified as averb, pronounced [ɛntˈfiːlən]. entziehen is at rank #8,196, tagged as averb, pronounced [ɛntˈt͡siːən].

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 31305, this pair ranks #1,730,805 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of entfielen vs entziehen

Shared letters: eint. Private to "entfielen": fl. Private to "entziehen": hz.

"entfielen" · 9 letters · shape VCCCVVCVC  ·  "entziehen" · 9 letters · shape VCCCVVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • entfielenenftielen · enntfielen · entfeilen · entffielen · entfieeln · entfielenn · entfiellen · entfielne
  • entziehenenntziehen · entizehen · enttziehen · entzeihen · entzieehn · entziehenn · entziehhen · entziehne

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "entfielen" for "entziehen" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([ɛntˈfiːlən] versus [ɛntˈt͡siːən]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "entfielen" or "entziehen"?
"entziehen" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #8,196 in our German list, against #23,109 for "entfielen". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

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

  • Full dictionary entry for "entfielen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "entziehen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,730,805 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "entfielen" and "entziehen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "entfiel vs entfielen". 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 #1,730,805 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