Which to use
“verfallen” and “verfolgen” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #10,000
- “verfallen” frequency rank
- #2,795
- “verfolgen” frequency rank
- 12795
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | verfallen | verfolgen |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | mit der Zeit brüchig werden oder kaputtgehen | jemandem hinterher fahren oder gehen, eventuell um ihn einzuholen; jemandem auf den Fersen sein |
Where the eye mixes verfallen and verfolgen
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence. verfallen and verfolgen follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (CVCCVCCVC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.
Look-alike desk: verfallen vs verfolgen
A purely visual mix-up. verfallen ([fɛɐ̯ˈfalən]) and verfolgen ([fɛɐ̯ˈfɔlɡn̩]) 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 12795, 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]. verfolgen is at rank #2,795, tagged as averb, pronounced [fɛɐ̯ˈfɔlɡn̩].
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 12795, this pair ranks #1,962,002 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of verfallen vs verfolgen
Shared letters: eflnrv. Private to "verfallen": a. Private to "verfolgen": go.
"verfallen" · 9 letters · shape CVCCVCCVC · "verfolgen" · 9 letters · shape CVCCVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "verfallen" and "verfolgen" be used interchangeably?
In ordinary German text, does "verfallen" or "verfolgen" show up more?
Useful next steps
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "verfallen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "verfolgen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,962,002 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "verfallen" and "verfolgen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "verfallen vs verfangen". 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 #1,962,002 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.