GefühlvsGemahlWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

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

#762
“Gefühl” frequency rank
#32,057
“Gemahl” frequency rank
32819
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Gefühl Gemahl
Definition das subjektive Erleben von Erregung und hirnchemischer Aktivität der vermählte Mann

Where the eye mixes Gefühl and Gemahl

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.

6 ch
Gefühl
6 ch
Gemahl

Look-alike desk: Gefühl vs Gemahl

A purely visual mix-up. Gefühl ([ɡəˈfyːl]) and Gemahl ([ɡəˈmaːl]) 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 32819, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Gefühl is recorded at frequency rank #762, classified as anoun, pronounced [ɡəˈfyːl]. Gemahl is at rank #32,057, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ɡəˈmaːl].

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 32819, this pair ranks #1,699,377 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of Gefühl vs Gemahl

Shared letters: eghl. Private to "Gefühl": . Private to "Gemahl": am.

"Gefühl" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCC  ·  "Gemahl" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Gemahlegmahl · geamhl · gemahhl · gemahll · gemalh · gemhal · gemmahl · ggemahl

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "Gefühl" and "Gemahl" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([ɡəˈfyːl] versus [ɡəˈmaːl]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "Gefühl" vs "Gemahl" - which ranks higher?
"Gefühl" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #762 in our German list, against #32,057 for "Gemahl". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

After this comparison

Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.

  • Full dictionary entry for "Gefühl" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Gemahl" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,699,377 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Gefühl" and "Gemahl" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Gemahl vs gemäht". 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 #1,699,377 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