Which to use
“gefällig” is an adjective and “gefälligst” is an adverb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #18,557
- “gefällig” frequency rank
- #10,286
- “gefälligst” frequency rank
- 28843
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | gefällig | gefälligst |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | jemandem einen Dienst (Gefallen) erweisend | im 17. bis 19. Jahrhundert die höfische und amtsdeutsche Form von „bitte“ |
Where the eye mixes gefällig and gefälligst
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 8 letters in sequence. gefällig runs 8 letters (CVCVCCVC) against gefälligst's 10 (CVCVCCVCCC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Look-alike desk: gefällig vs gefälligst
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: gefällig is [ɡəˈfɛlɪç] while gefälligst is [ɡəˈfɛlɪçst]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 2 extra letter(s) - “gefällig” sits inside “gefälligst”, and the parts of speech differ too (adjective vs adverb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 28843, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
gefällig is recorded at frequency rank #18,557, classified as anadj, pronounced [ɡəˈfɛlɪç]. gefälligst is at rank #10,286, tagged as anadv, pronounced [ɡəˈfɛlɪçst].
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 28843, this pair ranks #1,777,607 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of gefällig vs gefälligst
Shared letters: efgilä. Private to "gefällig": -. Private to "gefälligst": st.
"gefällig" · 8 letters · shape CVCVCCVC · "gefälligst" · 10 letters · shape CVCVCCVCCC
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "gefällig" and "gefälligst" mean the same thing in a sentence?
In ordinary German text, does "gefällig" or "gefälligst" show up more?
After this comparison
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "gefällig" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "gefälligst" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,777,607 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "gefällig" and "gefälligst" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "gefällig vs gesellig". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #1,777,607 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.