Which to use
“gefallen” is an adjective and “Gesellen” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #904
- “gefallen” frequency rank
- #16,164
- “Gesellen” frequency rank
- 17068
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | gefallen | Gesellen |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | im Krieg durch Feindeinwirkung gestorben | Genitiv Singular des Substantivs Geselle |
Where the eye mixes gefallen and Gesellen
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. gefallen and Gesellen follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (CVCVCCVC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.
Why the eye confuses gefallen with Gesellen
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: gefallen is [ɡəˈfalən] while Gesellen is [ɡəˈzɛlən]. 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 noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 17068, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
gefallen is recorded at frequency rank #904, classified as anadj, pronounced [ɡəˈfalən]. Gesellen is at rank #16,164, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ɡəˈzɛlən].
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 17068, this pair ranks #1,930,633 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of gefallen vs Gesellen
Shared letters: egln. Private to "gefallen": af. Private to "Gesellen": s.
"gefallen" · 8 letters · shape CVCVCCVC · "Gesellen" · 8 letters · shape CVCVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "gefallen" for "Gesellen" ever safe?
Which is more common, "gefallen" or "Gesellen"?
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 "Gesellen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,930,633 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "gefallen" and "Gesellen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "gesell vs Gesellen". 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 #1,930,633 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.