falschvsfalschesWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#810
“falsch” frequency rank
#8,361
“falsches” frequency rank
9171
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature falsch falsches
Definition unrichtig (durch Irrtum oder Unwissenheit), tatsächlich anders Nominativ Singular Neutrum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs falsch

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set falsch and falsches apart are highlighted. They share 6 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

6 ch
falsch
8 ch
falsches

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. falsch ([falʃ]) and falsches ([ˈfalʃəs]) 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) - “falsch” sits inside “falsches”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 9171, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

falsch is recorded at frequency rank #810, classified as anadj, pronounced [falʃ]. falsches is at rank #8,361, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ˈfalʃəs].

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 9171, this pair ranks #1,981,167 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of falsch vs falsches

Shared letters: acfhls. Private to "falsch": -. Private to "falsches": e.

"falsch" · 6 letters · shape CVCCCC  ·  "falsches" · 8 letters · shape CVCCCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • falschaflsch · falcsh · fallsch · falscch · falschh · falshc · falssch · faslch
  • falschesaflsches · falcshes · fallsches · falscches · falscehs · falschess · falschhes · falschse

Frequency comparison

falsch#810
falsches#8,361

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "falsch" and "falsches" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([falʃ] versus [ˈfalʃəs]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "falsch" or "falsches"?
"falsch" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #810 in our German list, against #8,361 for "falsches". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

Remembering falsch vs falsches

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 “falsch” 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