füllenvsfülltenConfusable pair

Which to use

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

#5,171
“füllen” frequency rank
#32,541
“füllten” frequency rank
37712
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature füllen füllten
Definition einen Behälter voll machen, eine Aushöhlung stopfen 1. Person Plural Indikativ Präteritum Aktiv des Verbs füllen

Where the eye mixes füllen and füllten

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence.

6 ch
füllen
7 ch
füllten

Look-alike desk: füllen vs füllten

A purely visual mix-up. füllen ([ˈfʏlən]) 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 37712, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

füllen is recorded at frequency rank #5,171, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈfʏlən]. 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 37712, this pair ranks #1,583,012 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of füllen vs füllten

Shared letters: eflnü. Private to "füllen": -. Private to "füllten": t.

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

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "füllen" and "füllten" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ˈfʏlən] versus [ˈfʏltn̩]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
In ordinary German text, does "füllen" or "füllten" show up more?
"füllen" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #5,171 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.

What to do next

Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.

  • Full dictionary entry for "füllen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "füllten" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,583,012 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "füllen" and "füllten" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "fügten vs füllten". Nearby pair

Confusion rank #1,583,012 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