gefülltvsgequältWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: gefüllt is a adjective, gequält is a verb, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“gefüllt” is an adjective and “gequält” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#5,084
“gefüllt” frequency rank
#17,008
“gequält” frequency rank
22092
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature gefüllt gequält
Definition voll gemacht, voll geworden, keinen Platz mehr bietend Partizip Perfekt des Verbs quälen

Where the eye mixes gefüllt and gequält

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

7 ch
gefüllt
7 ch
gequält

Visual trap between gefüllt and gequält

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: gefüllt is [ɡəˈfʏlt] while gequält is [ɡəˈkvɛːlt]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 3 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (adjective vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 22092, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

gefüllt is recorded at frequency rank #5,084, classified as anadj, pronounced [ɡəˈfʏlt]. gequält is at rank #17,008, tagged as averb, pronounced [ɡəˈkvɛːlt].

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 22092, this pair ranks #1,878,439 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of gefüllt vs gequält

Shared letters: eglt. Private to "gefüllt": fü. Private to "gequält": quä.

"gefüllt" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCCC  ·  "gequält" · 7 letters · shape CVCVVCC

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "gefüllt" for "gequält" ever safe?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "gefüllt" is an adjective and "gequält" a verb, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
In ordinary German text, does "gefüllt" or "gequält" show up more?
"gefüllt" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #5,084 in our German list, against #17,008 for "gequält". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

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 "gefüllt" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "gequält" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,878,439 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "gefüllt" and "gequält" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Gefühls vs gefüllt". Nearby pair

Confusion rank #1,878,439 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