gefallenvsgemahlenConfusable pair

Quick tell: gefallen is a adjective, gemahlen is a verb, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“gefallen” is an adjective and “gemahlen” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#904
“gefallen” frequency rank
#47,432
“gemahlen” frequency rank
48336
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature gefallen gemahlen
Definition im Krieg durch Feindeinwirkung gestorben Partizip Perfekt des Verbs mahlen

Where the eye mixes gefallen and gemahlen

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

8 ch
gefallen
8 ch
gemahlen

Look-alike desk: gefallen vs gemahlen

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: gefallen is [ɡəˈfalən] while gemahlen is [ɡəˈmaːlən]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (adjective vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 48336, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

gefallen is recorded at frequency rank #904, classified as anadj, pronounced [ɡəˈfalən]. gemahlen is at rank #47,432, tagged as averb, pronounced [ɡəˈmaːlən].

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 48336, this pair ranks #1,252,269 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of gefallen vs gemahlen

Shared letters: aegln. Private to "gefallen": f. Private to "gemahlen": hm.

"gefallen" · 8 letters · shape CVCVCCVC  ·  "gemahlen" · 8 letters · shape CVCVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • gefallenegfallen · geafllen · gefaleln · gefalen · gefallenn · gefallne · geffallen · geflalen
  • gemahlenegmahlen · geamhlen · gemaheln · gemahhlen · gemahlenn · gemahllen · gemahlne · gemalhen

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "gefallen" and "gemahlen" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "gefallen" is an adjective and "gemahlen" a verb, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Frequency check: "gefallen" vs "gemahlen" - which ranks higher?
"gefallen" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #904 in our German list, against #47,432 for "gemahlen". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

After this comparison

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 "gemahlen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,252,269 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "gefallen" and "gemahlen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "gemahlen vs gemalten". 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 #1,252,269 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