fällstvsfängstTell them apart

Which to use

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

#32,046
“fällst” frequency rank
#26,420
“fängst” frequency rank
58466
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature fällst fängst
Definition 2. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs fallen 2. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs fangen

Where the eye mixes fällst and fängst

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. fällst and fängst follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (CVCCCC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.

6 ch
fällst
6 ch
fängst

Look-alike desk: fällst vs fängst

A purely visual mix-up. fällst ([fɛlst]) and fängst ([fɛŋst]) 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 58466, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

fällst is recorded at frequency rank #32,046, classified as averb, pronounced [fɛlst]. fängst is at rank #26,420, tagged as averb, pronounced [fɛŋst].

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 58466, this pair ranks #861,698 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of fällst vs fängst

Shared letters: fstä. Private to "fällst": l. Private to "fängst": gn.

"fällst" · 6 letters · shape CVCCCC  ·  "fängst" · 6 letters · shape CVCCCC

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "fällst" for "fängst" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([fɛlst] versus [fɛŋst]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "fällst" vs "fängst" - which ranks higher?
"fängst" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #26,420 in our German list, against #32,046 for "fällst". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

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

  • Full dictionary entry for "fällst" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "fängst" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #861,698 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "fällst" and "fängst" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "fandest vs fängst". Nearby pair

Confusion rank #861,698 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