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 eye mixes gefälscht and gefälschte
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 9 letters in sequence. gefälscht runs 9 letters (CVCVCCCCC) against gefälschte's 10 (CVCVCCCCCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses gefälscht with gefälschte
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
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "gefälscht" for "gefälschte" ever safe?
In ordinary German text, does "gefälscht" or "gefälschte" show up more?
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 "gefälscht" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "gefälschte" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,692,215 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "gefälscht" and "gefälschte" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "gefälscht vs gefischt". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #1,692,215 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.