gefallenvsgemaltenTell them apart

Which to use

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

#904
“gefallen” frequency rank
#37,535
“gemalten” frequency rank
38439
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature gefallen gemalten
Definition im Krieg durch Feindeinwirkung gestorben Genitiv Singular Maskulinum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs gemalt

Where the eye mixes gefallen and gemalten

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. gefallen and gemalten follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (CVCVCCVC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.

8 ch
gefallen
8 ch
gemalten

Visual trap between gefallen and gemalten

A purely visual mix-up. gefallen ([ɡəˈfalən]) and gemalten ([ɡəˈmaːltn̩]) 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 38439, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

gefallen is recorded at frequency rank #904, classified as anadj, pronounced [ɡəˈfalən]. gemalten is at rank #37,535, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ɡəˈmaːltn̩].

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 38439, this pair ranks #1,563,936 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of gefallen vs gemalten

Shared letters: aegln. Private to "gefallen": f. Private to "gemalten": mt.

"gefallen" · 8 letters · shape CVCVCCVC  ·  "gemalten" · 8 letters · shape CVCVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • gefallen ← egfallen · geafllen · gefaleln · gefalen · gefallenn · gefallne · geffallen · geflalen
  • gemalten ← egmalten · geamlten · gemaletn · gemallten · gemaltenn · gemaltne · gemaltten · gematlen

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "gefallen" and "gemalten" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ɡəˈfalən] versus [ɡəˈmaːltn̩]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "gefallen" vs "gemalten" - which ranks higher?
"gefallen" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #904 in our German list, against #37,535 for "gemalten". 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 "gemalten" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,563,936 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "gefallen" and "gemalten" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "geballten 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 #1,563,936 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