Which to use
“prallen” and “prallte” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #21,026
- “prallen” frequency rank
- #33,237
- “prallte” frequency rank
- 54263
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | prallen | prallte |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | mit großer Wucht auf/gegen etwas stoßen | 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präteritum Aktiv des Verbs prallen |
Where the eye mixes prallen and prallte
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. prallen (CCVCCVC) and prallte (CCVCCCV) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.
Look-alike desk: prallen vs prallte
A purely visual mix-up. prallen ([ˈpʁalən]) and prallte ([ˈpʁaltə]) 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 54263, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
prallen is recorded at frequency rank #21,026, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈpʁalən]. prallte is at rank #33,237, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈpʁaltə].
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 54263, this pair ranks #1,025,639 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of prallen vs prallte
Shared letters: aelpr. Private to "prallen": n. Private to "prallte": t.
"prallen" · 7 letters · shape CCVCCVC · "prallte" · 7 letters · shape CCVCCCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "prallen" for "prallte" ever safe?
Which is more common, "prallen" or "prallte"?
What to do next
Eye-level mix-up between "prallen" and "prallte" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "prallen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "prallte" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,025,639 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "prallen" and "prallte" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Prälat vs prallte". 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 #1,025,639 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.