Which to use
“gefallen” is an adjective and “gefällt” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #904
- “gefallen” frequency rank
- #991
- “gefällt” frequency rank
- 1895
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | gefallen | gefällt |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | im Krieg durch Feindeinwirkung gestorben | Partizip Perfekt des Verbs fällen |
Where the eye mixes gefallen and gefällt
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between gefallen and gefällt
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: gefallen is [ɡəˈfalən] while gefällt is [ɡəˈfɛlt]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (adjective vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 1895, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
gefallen is recorded at frequency rank #904, classified as anadj, pronounced [ɡəˈfalən]. gefällt is at rank #991, tagged as averb, pronounced [ɡəˈfɛlt].
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 1895, this pair ranks #2,003,514 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of gefallen vs gefällt
Shared letters: efgl. Private to "gefallen": an. Private to "gefällt": tä.
"gefallen" · 8 letters · shape CVCVCCVC · "gefällt" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCCC
Known mistypes of this pair
- gefallen ← egfallen · geafllen · gefaleln · gefalen · gefallenn · gefallne · geffallen · geflalen
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "gefallen" for "gefällt" ever safe?
In ordinary German text, does "gefallen" or "gefällt" show up more?
What to do next
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "gefallen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "gefällt" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #2,003,514 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "gefallen" and "gefällt" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "geballten vs gefallen". Nearby pair
- Recorded mistypes exist for at least one side of this pair, useful when a spell-checker or OCR lands on the wrong form. See mistypes
Confusion rank #2,003,514 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.