Which to use
“gefielen” and “gerieben” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #39,956
- “gefielen” frequency rank
- #41,194
- “gerieben” frequency rank
- 81150
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | gefielen | gerieben |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | 1. Person Plural Indikativ Präteritum Aktiv des Verbs gefallen | Partizip Perfekt des Verbs reiben |
Where the eye mixes gefielen and gerieben
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. gefielen and gerieben follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (CVCVVCVC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.
Look-alike desk: gefielen vs gerieben
A purely visual mix-up. gefielen ([ɡəˈfiːlən]) and gerieben ([ɡəˈʁiːbn̩]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 81150, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
gefielen is recorded at frequency rank #39,956, classified as averb, pronounced [ɡəˈfiːlən]. gerieben is at rank #41,194, tagged as averb, pronounced [ɡəˈʁiːbn̩].
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 81150, this pair ranks #181,294 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of gefielen vs gerieben
Shared letters: egin. Private to "gefielen": fl. Private to "gerieben": br.
"gefielen" · 8 letters · shape CVCVVCVC · "gerieben" · 8 letters · shape CVCVVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "gefielen" for "gerieben" ever safe?
Which is more common, "gefielen" or "gerieben"?
After this comparison
Eye-level mix-up between "gefielen" and "gerieben" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "gefielen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "gerieben" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #181,294 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "gefielen" and "gerieben" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "gerieben vs Gorleben". 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 #181,294 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.