GefühlvsGefühlsWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#762
“Gefühl” frequency rank
#43,203
“Gefühls” frequency rank
43965
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Gefühl Gefühls
Definition das subjektive Erleben von Erregung und hirnchemischer Aktivität Genitiv Singular des Substantivs Gefühl

Where the eye mixes Gefühl and Gefühls

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. Gefühl runs 6 letters (CVCVCC) against Gefühls's 7 (CVCVCCC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

6 ch
Gefühl
7 ch
Gefühls

Look-alike desk: Gefühl vs Gefühls

A purely visual mix-up. Gefühl ([ɡəˈfyːl]) and Gefühls ([ɡəˈfyːls]) 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 1 extra letter(s) - “Gefühl” sits inside “Gefühls”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 43965, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Gefühl is recorded at frequency rank #762, classified as anoun, pronounced [ɡəˈfyːl]. Gefühls is at rank #43,203, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ɡəˈfyːls].

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 43965, this pair ranks #1,401,393 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of Gefühl vs Gefühls

Shared letters: efghlü. Private to "Gefühl": -. Private to "Gefühls": s.

"Gefühl" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCC  ·  "Gefühls" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCCC

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "Gefühl" and "Gefühls" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ɡəˈfyːl] versus [ɡəˈfyːls]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "Gefühl" or "Gefühls"?
"Gefühl" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #762 in our German list, against #43,203 for "Gefühls". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

Useful next steps

Eye-level mix-up between "Gefühl" and "Gefühls" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.

  • Full dictionary entry for "Gefühl" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Gefühls" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,401,393 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Gefühl" and "Gefühls" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Gefühls vs gekühlt". Nearby pair

Confusion rank #1,401,393 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