Which to use
“gefiel” is a verb and “geil” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #9,553
- “gefiel” frequency rank
- #1,729
- “geil” frequency rank
- 11282
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | gefiel | geil |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präteritum Aktiv des Verbs gefallen | auf sexuelle Weise erregt, sexuell fordernd, jemanden sexuell attraktiv findend |
Where the eye mixes gefiel and geil
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. gefiel runs 6 letters (CVCVVC) against geil's 4 (CVVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses gefiel with geil
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: gefiel is [ɡəˈfiːl] while geil is [ɡaɪ̯l]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 2 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 11282, 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]. geil is at rank #1,729, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ɡaɪ̯l].
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 11282, this pair ranks #1,970,702 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of gefiel vs geil
Shared letters: egil. Private to "gefiel": f. Private to "geil": -.
"gefiel" · 6 letters · shape CVCVVC · "geil" · 4 letters · shape CVVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "gefiel" and "geil" be used interchangeably?
Frequency check: "gefiel" vs "geil" - which ranks higher?
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 "geil" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,970,702 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "gefiel" and "geil" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "gefiel vs gefielen". 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 #1,970,702 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.