TodesfallvsTodesfälleWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#20,433
“Todesfall” frequency rank
#13,254
“Todesfälle” frequency rank
33687
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Todesfall Todesfälle
Definition Tod einer Person Nominativ Plural des Substantivs Todesfall

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set Todesfall and Todesfälle apart are highlighted. They share 8 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

9 ch
Todesfall
10 ch
Todesfälle

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. Todesfall ([ˈtoːdəsˌfal]) and Todesfälle ([ˈtoːdəsˌfɛlə]) 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 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 33687, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Todesfall is recorded at frequency rank #20,433, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈtoːdəsˌfal]. Todesfälle is at rank #13,254, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈtoːdəsˌfɛlə].

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 33687, this pair ranks #1,680,290 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of Todesfall vs Todesfälle

Shared letters: deflost. Private to "Todesfall": a. Private to "Todesfälle": ä.

"Todesfall" · 9 letters · shape CVCVCCVCC  ·  "Todesfälle" · 10 letters · shape CVCVCCVCCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Todesfallotdesfall · tdoesfall · toddesfall · todefsall · todesafll · todesfal · todesffall · todesflal

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "Todesfall" and "Todesfälle" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ˈtoːdəsˌfal] versus [ˈtoːdəsˌfɛlə]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "Todesfall" or "Todesfälle"?
"Todesfälle" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #13,254 in our German list, against #20,433 for "Todesfall". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list