gefälschtvsgefälschteWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#16,437
“gefälscht” frequency rank
#16,712
“gefälschte” frequency rank
33149
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature gefälscht gefälschte
Definition illegal nachgemacht Nominativ Singular Femininum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs gefälscht

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set gefälscht and gefälschte apart are highlighted. They share 9 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

9 ch
gefälscht
10 ch
gefälschte

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. gefälscht ([ɡəˈfɛlʃt]) and gefälschte ([ɡəˈfɛlʃtə]) 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 extra letter(s) - “gefälscht” sits inside “gefälschte”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 33149, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

gefälscht is recorded at frequency rank #16,437, classified as anadj, pronounced [ɡəˈfɛlʃt]. gefälschte is at rank #16,712, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ɡəˈfɛlʃtə].

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 33149, this pair ranks #1,692,215 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of gefälscht vs gefälschte

Shared letters: cefghlstä. Private to "gefälscht": -. Private to "gefälschte": -.

"gefälscht" · 9 letters · shape CVCVCCCCC  ·  "gefälschte" · 10 letters · shape CVCVCCCCCV

Frequency comparison

gefälscht#16,437
gefälschte#16,712

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "gefälscht" and "gefälschte" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ɡəˈfɛlʃt] versus [ɡəˈfɛlʃtə]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "gefälscht" or "gefälschte"?
"gefälscht" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #16,437 in our German list, against #16,712 for "gefälschte". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering gefälscht vs gefälschte

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Read both glosses above and match the meaning you intend, only context separates this pair.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “gefälscht” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list