Which to use
“Unfall” and “Unfällen” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #1,716
- “Unfall” frequency rank
- #14,443
- “Unfällen” frequency rank
- 16159
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | Unfall | Unfällen |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Vorfall, bei dem Sachen, Menschen oder Tiere physisch/körperlich zu Schaden kommen | Dativ Plural des Substantivs Unfall |
Where the eye mixes Unfall and Unfällen
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. Unfall runs 6 letters (VCCVCC) against Unfällen's 8 (VCCVCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Look-alike desk: Unfall vs Unfällen
A purely visual mix-up. Unfall ([ˈʊnfal]) and Unfällen ([ˈʊnˌfɛlən]) 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 16159, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
Unfall is recorded at frequency rank #1,716, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈʊnfal]. Unfällen is at rank #14,443, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈʊnˌfɛlən].
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 16159, this pair ranks #1,938,089 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of Unfall vs Unfällen
Shared letters: flnu. Private to "Unfall": a. Private to "Unfällen": eä.
"Unfall" · 6 letters · shape VCCVCC · "Unfällen" · 8 letters · shape VCCVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- Unfall ← nufall · ufnall · unafll · unfal · unffall · unflal · unnfall
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "Unfall" for "Unfällen" ever safe?
Frequency check: "Unfall" vs "Unfällen" - which ranks higher?
What to do next
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "Unfall" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "Unfällen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,938,089 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "Unfall" and "Unfällen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "umfallen vs Unfällen". 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 #1,938,089 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.