fälligvsfälligeWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

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

#8,057
“fällig” frequency rank
#46,663
“fällige” frequency rank
54720
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature fällig fällige
Definition innerhalb der Erfüllungsfrist befindlich Nominativ Singular Femininum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs fällig

Where the eye mixes fällig and fällige

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

6 ch
fällig
7 ch
fällige

Visual trap between fällig and fällige

A purely visual mix-up. fällig ([ˈfɛlɪç]) 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 extra letter(s) - “fällig” sits inside “fällige”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 54720, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

fällig is recorded at frequency rank #8,057, classified as anadj, pronounced [ˈfɛlɪç]. 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 54720, this pair ranks #1,007,773 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of fällig vs fällige

Shared letters: fgilä. Private to "fällig": -. Private to "fällige": e.

"fällig" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC  ·  "fällige" · 7 letters · shape CVCCVCV

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "fällig" and "fällige" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ˈfɛlɪç] versus [ˈfɛlɪɡə]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
In ordinary German text, does "fällig" or "fällige" show up more?
"fällig" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #8,057 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.

Useful next steps

Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.

  • Full dictionary entry for "fällig" 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 #1,007,773 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "fällig" and "fällige" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "fällige vs falling". Nearby pair

Confusion rank #1,007,773 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