GefällevsGemäldeTell them apart

Which to use

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

#19,228
“Gefälle” frequency rank
#5,085
“Gemälde” frequency rank
24313
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Gefälle Gemälde
Definition der Grad der Neigung einer Straße oder eines Geländes ein auf einen Träger (etwa eine Leinwand) aufgebrachtes Bild

Where the eye mixes Gefälle and Gemälde

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. Gefälle and Gemälde follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (CVCVCCV). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.

7 ch
Gefälle
7 ch
Gemälde

Look-alike desk: Gefälle vs Gemälde

A purely visual mix-up. Gefälle ([ɡəˈfɛlə]) and Gemälde ([ɡəˈmɛːldə]) 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 24313, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Gefälle is recorded at frequency rank #19,228, classified as anoun, pronounced [ɡəˈfɛlə]. Gemälde is at rank #5,085, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ɡəˈmɛːldə].

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 24313, this pair ranks #1,849,386 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of Gefälle vs Gemälde

Shared letters: eglä. Private to "Gefälle": f. Private to "Gemälde": dm.

"Gefälle" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCCV  ·  "Gemälde" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCCV

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "Gefälle" and "Gemälde" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([ɡəˈfɛlə] versus [ɡəˈmɛːldə]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "Gefälle" or "Gemälde"?
"Gemälde" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #5,085 in our German list, against #19,228 for "Gefälle". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Useful next steps

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

  • Full dictionary entry for "Gefälle" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Gemälde" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,849,386 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Gefälle" and "Gemälde" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Gefälle vs Gefilde". Nearby pair

Confusion rank #1,849,386 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