gefälltvsgefaltetWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#991
“gefällt” frequency rank
#31,565
“gefaltet” frequency rank
32556
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature gefällt gefaltet
Definition Partizip Perfekt des Verbs fällen Partizip Perfekt des Verbs falten

Where the eye mixes gefällt and gefaltet

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. gefällt runs 7 letters (CVCVCCC) against gefaltet's 8 (CVCVCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

7 ch
gefällt
8 ch
gefaltet

Visual trap between gefällt and gefaltet

A purely visual mix-up. gefällt ([ɡəˈfɛlt]) and gefaltet ([ɡəˈfaltət]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 32556, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

gefällt is recorded at frequency rank #991, classified as averb, pronounced [ɡəˈfɛlt]. gefaltet is at rank #31,565, tagged as averb, pronounced [ɡəˈfaltət].

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 32556, this pair ranks #1,705,145 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of gefällt vs gefaltet

Shared letters: efglt. Private to "gefällt": ä. Private to "gefaltet": a.

"gefällt" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCCC  ·  "gefaltet" · 8 letters · shape CVCVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • gefaltet ← egfaltet · geafltet · gefalett · gefalltet · gefaltett · gefaltte · gefalttet · gefatlet

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "gefällt" for "gefaltet" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([ɡəˈfɛlt] versus [ɡəˈfaltət]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "gefällt" or "gefaltet"?
"gefällt" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #991 in our German list, against #31,565 for "gefaltet". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

What to do next

Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.

  • Full dictionary entry for "gefällt" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "gefaltet" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,705,145 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "gefällt" and "gefaltet" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "gefaltet vs gemalte". 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 #1,705,145 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