fallenvsfühlenWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#968
“fallen” frequency rank
#1,290
“fühlen” frequency rank
2258
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature fallen fühlen
Definition sich unkontrolliert von oben nach unten bewegen (durch die Gravitation) per Tastsinn beziehungsweise allgemein über die Haut wahrnehmen oder erkunden

Where the eye mixes fallen and fühlen

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.

6 ch
fallen
6 ch
fühlen

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. fallen ([ˈfalən]) and fühlen ([ˈfyːlən]) 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 2258, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

fallen is recorded at frequency rank #968, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈfalən]. fühlen is at rank #1,290, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈfyːlən].

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 2258, this pair ranks #2,002,762 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of fallen vs fühlen

Shared letters: efln. Private to "fallen": a. Private to "fühlen": .

"fallen" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC  ·  "fühlen" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • fallenafllen · faleln · falen · fallenn · fallne · ffallen · flalen

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "fallen" and "fühlen" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ˈfalən] versus [ˈfyːlən]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "fallen" or "fühlen"?
"fallen" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #968 in our German list, against #1,290 for "fühlen". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

You've compared "fallen" and "fühlen". Here's where to go from here.

  • Full dictionary entry for "fallen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "fühlen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #2,002,762 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "fallen" and "fühlen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "fallen vs falling". 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

PlainSpell is a reference corpus, not spelling advice. Verify unusual forms in context.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list