verfallenvsverfälltConfusable pair

Which to use

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

#10,000
“verfallen” frequency rank
#19,749
“verfällt” frequency rank
29749
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature verfallen verfällt
Definition mit der Zeit brüchig werden oder kaputtgehen 3. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs verfallen

Where the eye mixes verfallen and verfällt

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. verfallen runs 9 letters (CVCCVCCVC) against verfällt's 8 (CVCCVCCC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

9 ch
verfallen
8 ch
verfällt

Visual trap between verfallen and verfällt

A purely visual mix-up. verfallen ([fɛɐ̯ˈfalən]) and verfällt ([fɛɐ̯ˈfɛlt]) 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 29749, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

verfallen is recorded at frequency rank #10,000, classified as averb, pronounced [fɛɐ̯ˈfalən]. verfällt is at rank #19,749, tagged as averb, pronounced [fɛɐ̯ˈfɛlt].

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 29749, this pair ranks #1,761,033 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of verfallen vs verfällt

Shared letters: eflrv. Private to "verfallen": an. Private to "verfällt": tä.

"verfallen" · 9 letters · shape CVCCVCCVC  ·  "verfällt" · 8 letters · shape CVCCVCCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • verfallen ← evrfallen · vefrallen · verafllen · verfaleln · verfalen · verfallenn · verfallne · verffallen

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "verfallen" and "verfällt" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([fɛɐ̯ˈfalən] versus [fɛɐ̯ˈfɛlt]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "verfallen" or "verfällt"?
"verfallen" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #10,000 in our German list, against #19,749 for "verfällt". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Useful next steps

Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.

  • Full dictionary entry for "verfallen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "verfällt" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,761,033 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "verfallen" and "verfällt" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "verfällt vs verhüllt". 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 #1,761,033 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