gefälschtvsgefälschtenWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#16,437
“gefälscht” frequency rank
#20,591
“gefälschten” frequency rank
37028
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature gefälscht gefälschten
Definition illegal nachgemacht Genitiv Singular Maskulinum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs gefälscht

Where the spellings diverge

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

9 ch
gefälscht
11 ch
gefälschten

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. gefälscht ([ɡəˈfɛlʃt]) and gefälschten ([ɡəˈfɛlʃtn̩]) 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 2 extra letter(s) - “gefälscht” sits inside “gefälschten”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 37028, 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]. gefälschten is at rank #20,591, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ɡəˈfɛlʃtn̩].

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 37028, this pair ranks #1,600,638 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of gefälscht vs gefälschten

Shared letters: cefghlstä. Private to "gefälscht": -. Private to "gefälschten": n.

"gefälscht" · 9 letters · shape CVCVCCCCC  ·  "gefälschten" · 11 letters · shape CVCVCCCCCVC

Frequency comparison

gefälscht#16,437
gefälschten#20,591

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "gefälscht" and "gefälschten" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ɡəˈfɛlʃt] versus [ɡəˈfɛlʃtn̩]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "gefälscht" or "gefälschten"?
"gefälscht" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #16,437 in our German list, against #20,591 for "gefälschten". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering gefälscht vs gefälschten

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