GefügevsGefühlTell them apart

Which to use

“Gefüge” and “Gefühl” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#29,592
“Gefüge” frequency rank
#762
“Gefühl” frequency rank
30354
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Gefüge Gefühl
Definition Gebilde und die Art und Weise, wie es zusammenhängt das subjektive Erleben von Erregung und hirnchemischer Aktivität

Where the eye mixes Gefüge and Gefühl

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. Gefüge (CVCVCV) and Gefühl (CVCVCC) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.

6 ch
Gefüge
6 ch
Gefühl

Why the eye confuses Gefüge with Gefühl

A purely visual mix-up. Gefüge ([ɡəˈfyːɡə]) and Gefühl ([ɡəˈfyːl]) 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 30354, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Gefüge is recorded at frequency rank #29,592, classified as anoun, pronounced [ɡəˈfyːɡə]. 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 30354, this pair ranks #1,749,532 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of Gefüge vs Gefühl

Shared letters: efgü. Private to "Gefüge": -. Private to "Gefühl": hl.

"Gefüge" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCV  ·  "Gefühl" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCC

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "Gefüge" for "Gefühl" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([ɡəˈfyːɡə] versus [ɡəˈfyːl]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
In ordinary German text, does "Gefüge" or "Gefühl" show up more?
"Gefühl" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #762 in our German list, against #29,592 for "Gefüge". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

After this comparison

Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.

  • Full dictionary entry for "Gefüge" 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 #1,749,532 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Gefüge" and "Gefühl" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Gefüge vs gerügt". Nearby pair

Confusion rank #1,749,532 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list