Which to use
“gefehlt” is a verb and “Gefühl” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #7,180
- “gefehlt” frequency rank
- #762
- “Gefühl” frequency rank
- 7942
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | gefehlt | Gefühl |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Partizip Perfekt des Verbs fehlen | das subjektive Erleben von Erregung und hirnchemischer Aktivität |
Where the eye mixes gefehlt and Gefühl
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. gefehlt runs 7 letters (CVCVCCC) against Gefühl's 6 (CVCVCC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses gefehlt with Gefühl
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: gefehlt is [ɡəˈfeːlt] while Gefühl is [ɡəˈfyːl]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 7942, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
gefehlt is recorded at frequency rank #7,180, classified as averb, pronounced [ɡəˈfeːlt]. Gefühl is at rank #762, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ɡəˈfyːl].
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 7942, this pair ranks #1,986,243 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of gefehlt vs Gefühl
Shared letters: efghl. Private to "gefehlt": t. Private to "Gefühl": ü.
"gefehlt" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCCC · "Gefühl" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCC
Known mistypes of this pair
- gefehlt ← egfehlt · geefhlt · gefehhlt · gefehllt · gefehltt · gefehtl · gefelht · geffehlt
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "gefehlt" for "Gefühl" ever safe?
Which is more common, "gefehlt" or "Gefühl"?
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 "gefehlt" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "Gefühl" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,986,243 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "gefehlt" and "Gefühl" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "gedehnt vs gefehlt". 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 #1,986,243 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.