ZufallvsZufälleConfusable pair

Which to use

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

#2,871
“Zufall” frequency rank
#22,980
“Zufälle” frequency rank
25851
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Zufall Zufälle
Definition das nicht Vorhersehbare, das nicht Beabsichtigte Nominativ Plural des Substantivs Zufall

Where the eye mixes Zufall and Zufälle

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. Zufall runs 6 letters (CVCVCC) against Zufälle's 7 (CVCVCCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

6 ch
Zufall
7 ch
Zufälle

Visual trap between Zufall and Zufälle

A purely visual mix-up. Zufall ([ˈt͡suːˌfal]) and Zufälle ([ˈt͡suːˌfɛlə]) 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 25851, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Zufall is recorded at frequency rank #2,871, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈt͡suːˌfal]. Zufälle is at rank #22,980, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈt͡suːˌfɛlə].

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 25851, this pair ranks #1,827,054 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of Zufall vs Zufälle

Shared letters: fluz. Private to "Zufall": a. Private to "Zufälle": eä.

"Zufall" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCC  ·  "Zufälle" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Zufall ← uzfall · zfuall · zuafll · zufal · zuffall · zuflal · zzufall

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "Zufall" and "Zufälle" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([ˈt͡suːˌfal] versus [ˈt͡suːˌfɛlə]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
In ordinary German text, does "Zufall" or "Zufälle" show up more?
"Zufall" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #2,871 in our German list, against #22,980 for "Zufälle". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.

  • Full dictionary entry for "Zufall" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Zufälle" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,827,054 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Zufall" and "Zufälle" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Zufälle vs zufällige". 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 #1,827,054 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