verfälltvsverfolgtConfusable pair

Which to use

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

#19,749
“verfällt” frequency rank
#2,271
“verfolgt” frequency rank
22020
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature verfällt verfolgt
Definition 3. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs verfallen Partizip Perfekt des Verbs verfolgen

Where the eye mixes verfällt and verfolgt

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. verfällt and verfolgt follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (CVCCVCCC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.

8 ch
verfällt
8 ch
verfolgt

Look-alike desk: verfällt vs verfolgt

A purely visual mix-up. verfällt ([fɛɐ̯ˈfɛlt]) and verfolgt ([fɛɐ̯ˈfɔlkt]) 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 22020, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

verfällt is recorded at frequency rank #19,749, classified as averb, pronounced [fɛɐ̯ˈfɛlt]. verfolgt is at rank #2,271, tagged as averb, pronounced [fɛɐ̯ˈfɔlkt].

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 22020, this pair ranks #1,879,328 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of verfällt vs verfolgt

Shared letters: eflrtv. Private to "verfällt": ä. Private to "verfolgt": go.

"verfällt" · 8 letters · shape CVCCVCCC  ·  "verfolgt" · 8 letters · shape CVCCVCCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • verfolgtevrfolgt · vefrolgt · verffolgt · verflogt · verfoglt · verfolggt · verfolgtt · verfollgt

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "verfällt" and "verfolgt" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([fɛɐ̯ˈfɛlt] versus [fɛɐ̯ˈfɔlkt]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
In ordinary German text, does "verfällt" or "verfolgt" show up more?
"verfolgt" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #2,271 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

Eye-level mix-up between "verfällt" and "verfolgt" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.

  • Full dictionary entry for "verfällt" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "verfolgt" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,879,328 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "verfällt" and "verfolgt" 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 #1,879,328 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