fälligvsfälligenTell them apart

Which to use

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

#8,057
“fällig” frequency rank
#32,045
“fälligen” frequency rank
40102
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature fällig fälligen
Definition innerhalb der Erfüllungsfrist befindlich Genitiv Singular Maskulinum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs fällig

Where the eye mixes fällig and fälligen

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. fällig runs 6 letters (CVCCVC) against fälligen's 8 (CVCCVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

6 ch
fällig
8 ch
fälligen

Visual trap between fällig and fälligen

A purely visual mix-up. fällig ([ˈfɛlɪç]) and fälligen ([ˈfɛlɪɡn̩]) 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 2 extra letter(s) - “fällig” sits inside “fälligen”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 40102, 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]. fälligen is at rank #32,045, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ˈfɛlɪɡn̩].

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 40102, this pair ranks #1,518,016 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of fällig vs fälligen

Shared letters: fgilä. Private to "fällig": -. Private to "fälligen": en.

"fällig" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC  ·  "fälligen" · 8 letters · shape CVCCVCVC

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "fällig" and "fälligen" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ˈfɛlɪç] versus [ˈfɛlɪɡn̩]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "fällig" vs "fälligen" - which ranks higher?
"fällig" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #8,057 in our German list, against #32,045 for "fälligen". 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 "fälligen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,518,016 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "fällig" and "fälligen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "fällige vs fälligen". Nearby pair

Confusion rank #1,518,016 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