Which to use
“gefallen” is an adjective and “gefielen” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #904
- “gefallen” frequency rank
- #39,956
- “gefielen” frequency rank
- 40860
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | gefallen | gefielen |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | im Krieg durch Feindeinwirkung gestorben | 1. Person Plural Indikativ Präteritum Aktiv des Verbs gefallen |
Where the spellings diverge
Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set gefallen and gefielen apart are highlighted. They share 6 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
gefallen and gefielen form a confusable pair in the German index, two distinct headwords that are easily confused because they look alike, sound alike, or both. They share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions - close enough that the eye skips over the difference, far enough that meaning fully diverges. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 40860, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
gefallen is recorded at frequency rank #904, classified as anadj, pronounced [ɡəˈfalən]. gefielen is at rank #39,956, tagged as averb, pronounced [ɡəˈfiːlən].
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 40860, this pair ranks #1,496,230 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Frequency comparison
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "gefallen" and "gefielen" be used interchangeably?
Remembering gefallen vs gefielen
The fastest way to pick the right one every time.
- Check the role first: if you need an adjective, it's “gefallen”; for a verb, it's “gefielen”.
- See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “gefallen” entry
- Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable