faltenvsfülltenWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#10,852
“falten” frequency rank
#32,541
“füllten” frequency rank
43393
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature falten füllten
Definition umbiegen und zusammenlegen 1. Person Plural Indikativ Präteritum Aktiv des Verbs füllen

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set falten and füllten apart are highlighted. They share 5 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

6 ch
falten
7 ch
füllten

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. falten ([ˈfaltn̩]) and füllten ([ˈfʏltn̩]) 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 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 43393, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

falten is recorded at frequency rank #10,852, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈfaltn̩]. füllten is at rank #32,541, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈfʏltn̩].

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 43393, this pair ranks #1,419,546 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of falten vs füllten

Shared letters: eflnt. Private to "falten": a. Private to "füllten": ü.

"falten" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC  ·  "füllten" · 7 letters · shape CVCCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • faltenaflten · faletn · fallten · faltenn · faltne · faltten · fatlen · ffalten

Frequency comparison

falten#10,852
füllten#32,541

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "falten" and "füllten" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ˈfaltn̩] versus [ˈfʏltn̩]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "falten" or "füllten"?
"falten" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #10,852 in our German list, against #32,541 for "füllten". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering falten vs füllten

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 “falten” 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