Which to use
“gefiel” is a verb and “Geier” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #9,553
- “gefiel” frequency rank
- #15,891
- “Geier” frequency rank
- 25444
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | gefiel | Geier |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präteritum Aktiv des Verbs gefallen | ein Raubvogel aus der Unterfamilie der Altweltgeier (Aegypiinae) und/oder der Familie Neuweltgeier (Cathartidae) |
Where the eye mixes gefiel and Geier
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. gefiel runs 6 letters (CVCVVC) against Geier's 5 (CVVVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Visual trap between gefiel and Geier
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: gefiel is [ɡəˈfiːl] while Geier is [ˈɡaɪ̯ɐ]. 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 25444, 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]. Geier is at rank #15,891, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈɡaɪ̯ɐ].
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 25444, this pair ranks #1,833,198 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of gefiel vs Geier
Shared letters: egi. Private to "gefiel": fl. Private to "Geier": r.
"gefiel" · 6 letters · shape CVCVVC · "Geier" · 5 letters · shape CVVVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "gefiel" and "Geier" be used interchangeably?
In ordinary German text, does "gefiel" or "Geier" show up more?
Useful next steps
Eye-level mix-up between "gefiel" and "Geier" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "gefiel" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "Geier" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,833,198 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "gefiel" and "Geier" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Geier vs gries". 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 #1,833,198 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.