ZufällevszufolgeWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: Zufälle is a noun, zufolge is a postp, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“Zufälle” is a noun and “zufolge” is a postp - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#22,980
“Zufälle” frequency rank
#3,291
“zufolge” frequency rank
26271
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Zufälle zufolge
Definition Nominativ Plural des Substantivs Zufall auf etwas hinweisend, nach, gemäß

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set Zufälle and zufolge apart are highlighted. They share 5 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

7 ch
Zufälle
7 ch
zufolge

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: Zufälle is [ˈt͡suːˌfɛlə] while zufolge is [t͡sʊˈfɔlɡə]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs postp), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 26271, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Zufälle is recorded at frequency rank #22,980, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈt͡suːˌfɛlə]. zufolge is at rank #3,291, tagged as apostp, pronounced [t͡sʊˈfɔlɡə].

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 26271, this pair ranks #1,820,632 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of Zufälle vs zufolge

Shared letters: efluz. Private to "Zufälle": ä. Private to "zufolge": go.

"Zufälle" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCCV  ·  "zufolge" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • zufolgeuzfolge · zfuolge · zuffolge · zufloge · zufogle · zufoleg · zufolgge · zufollge

Frequency comparison

Zufälle#22,980
zufolge#3,291

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "Zufälle" and "zufolge" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "Zufälle" is a noun and "zufolge" a postp, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "Zufälle" or "zufolge"?
"zufolge" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #3,291 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.

Remembering Zufälle vs zufolge

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a noun, it's “Zufälle”; for a postp, it's “zufolge”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “Zufälle” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list