Which to use
“gefiel” and “gefielen” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #9,553
- “gefiel” frequency rank
- #39,956
- “gefielen” frequency rank
- 49509
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | gefiel | gefielen |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präteritum Aktiv des Verbs gefallen | 1. Person Plural Indikativ Präteritum Aktiv des Verbs gefallen |
Where the eye mixes gefiel and gefielen
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. gefiel runs 6 letters (CVCVVC) against gefielen's 8 (CVCVVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Look-alike desk: gefiel vs gefielen
A purely visual mix-up. gefiel ([ɡəˈfiːl]) and gefielen ([ɡəˈfiːlən]) 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) - “gefiel” sits inside “gefielen”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 49509, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
gefiel is recorded at frequency rank #9,553, classified as averb, pronounced [ɡəˈfiːl]. gefielen is at rank #39,956, tagged as averb, pronounced [ɡəˈfiːlən].
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 49509, this pair ranks #1,208,850 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of gefiel vs gefielen
Shared letters: efgil. Private to "gefiel": -. Private to "gefielen": n.
"gefiel" · 6 letters · shape CVCVVC · "gefielen" · 8 letters · shape CVCVVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "gefiel" for "gefielen" ever safe?
In ordinary German text, does "gefiel" or "gefielen" 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 "gefiel" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "gefielen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,208,850 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "gefiel" and "gefielen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "gefielen vs Gefilden". 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 #1,208,850 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.