fähigevsfälligeWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

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

#31,051
“fähige” frequency rank
#46,663
“fällige” frequency rank
77714
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature fähige fällige
Definition Nominativ Singular Femininum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs fähig Nominativ Singular Femininum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs fällig

Where the eye mixes fähige and fällige

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

6 ch
fähige
7 ch
fällige

Why the eye confuses fähige with fällige

A purely visual mix-up. fähige ([ˈfɛːɪɡə]) and fällige ([ˈfɛlɪɡə]) 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 77714, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

fähige is recorded at frequency rank #31,051, classified as anadj, pronounced [ˈfɛːɪɡə]. fällige is at rank #46,663, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ˈfɛlɪɡə].

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 77714, this pair ranks #254,618 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of fähige vs fällige

Shared letters: efgiä. Private to "fähige": h. Private to "fällige": l.

"fähige" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCV  ·  "fällige" · 7 letters · shape CVCCVCV

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "fähige" and "fällige" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ˈfɛːɪɡə] versus [ˈfɛlɪɡə]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "fähige" vs "fällige" - which ranks higher?
"fähige" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #31,051 in our German list, against #46,663 for "fällige". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.

  • Full dictionary entry for "fähige" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "fällige" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #254,618 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "fähige" and "fällige" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "fällige vs falling". Nearby pair

Confusion rank #254,618 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