fälligevsfälligenWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#46,663
“fällige” frequency rank
#32,045
“fälligen” frequency rank
78708
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature fällige fälligen
Definition Nominativ Singular Femininum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs fällig Genitiv Singular Maskulinum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs fällig

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set fällige and fälligen apart are highlighted. They share 7 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

7 ch
fällige
8 ch
fälligen

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. fällige ([ˈfɛlɪɡə]) 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 1 extra letter(s) - “fällige” sits inside “fälligen”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 78708, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

fällige is recorded at frequency rank #46,663, classified as anadj, pronounced [ˈfɛlɪɡə]. 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 78708, this pair ranks #232,297 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of fällige vs fälligen

Shared letters: efgilä. Private to "fällige": -. Private to "fälligen": n.

"fällige" · 7 letters · shape CVCCVCV  ·  "fälligen" · 8 letters · shape CVCCVCVC

Frequency comparison

fällige#46,663
fälligen#32,045

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "fällige" and "fälligen" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ˈfɛlɪɡə] versus [ˈfɛlɪɡn̩]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "fällige" or "fälligen"?
"fälligen" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #32,045 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.

Remembering fällige vs fälligen

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Read both glosses above and match the meaning you intend, only context separates this pair.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “fällige” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list