fallenvsfällstWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

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

#968
“fallen” frequency rank
#32,046
“fällst” frequency rank
33014
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature fallen fällst
Definition sich unkontrolliert von oben nach unten bewegen (durch die Gravitation) 2. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs fallen

Where the eye mixes fallen and fällst

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence. fallen (CVCCVC) and fällst (CVCCCC) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.

6 ch
fallen
6 ch
fällst

Visual trap between fallen and fällst

A purely visual mix-up. fallen ([ˈfalən]) and fällst ([fɛlst]) 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 3 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 33014, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

fallen is recorded at frequency rank #968, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈfalən]. fällst is at rank #32,046, tagged as averb, pronounced [fɛlst].

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 33014, this pair ranks #1,695,144 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of fallen vs fällst

Shared letters: fl. Private to "fallen": aen. Private to "fällst": stä.

"fallen" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC  ·  "fällst" · 6 letters · shape CVCCCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • fallen ← afllen · faleln · falen · fallenn · fallne · ffallen · flalen

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "fallen" for "fällst" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([ˈfalən] versus [fɛlst]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "fallen" or "fällst"?
"fallen" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #968 in our German list, against #32,046 for "fällst". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

Useful next steps

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

  • Full dictionary entry for "fallen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "fällst" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,695,144 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "fallen" and "fällst" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "fällst vs fehlst". 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 #1,695,144 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