Which to use
“umfallen” and “umgefallen” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #22,932
- “umfallen” frequency rank
- #34,412
- “umgefallen” frequency rank
- 57344
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | umfallen | umgefallen |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | aus einer stehenden Position heraus zur Seite fallend in eine liegende Position kommen | Partizip Perfekt des Verbs umfallen |
Where the eye mixes umfallen and umgefallen
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 8 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses umfallen with umgefallen
A purely visual mix-up. umfallen ([ˈʊmˌfalən]) and umgefallen ([ˈʊmɡəˌfalən]) 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 2 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 57344, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
umfallen is recorded at frequency rank #22,932, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈʊmˌfalən]. umgefallen is at rank #34,412, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈʊmɡəˌfalən].
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 57344, this pair ranks #904,906 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of umfallen vs umgefallen
Shared letters: aeflmnu. Private to "umfallen": -. Private to "umgefallen": g.
"umfallen" · 8 letters · shape VCCVCCVC · "umgefallen" · 10 letters · shape VCCVCVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- umfallen ← mufallen · ufmallen · umafllen · umfaleln · umfalen · umfallenn · umfallne · umffallen
- umgefallen ← mugefallen · ugmefallen · umegfallen · umgeafllen · umgefaleln · umgefalen · umgefallenn · umgefallne
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "umfallen" for "umgefallen" ever safe?
Which is more common, "umfallen" or "umgefallen"?
What to do next
Eye-level mix-up between "umfallen" and "umgefallen" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "umfallen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "umgefallen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #904,906 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "umfallen" and "umgefallen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "umfahren vs umfallen". 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 #904,906 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.