fallenvsfaltenWhat's the difference?

Which to use

“fallen” and “falten” are a confusable Spanish pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#32,664
“fallen” frequency rank
#26,847
“falten” frequency rank
59511
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature fallen falten
Definition Tercera persona del plural (ellos, ellas; ustedes, 2.ª persona) del presente de subjuntivo de fallar. Tercera persona del plural (ellos, ellas; ustedes, 2.ª persona) del presente de subjuntivo de faltar.

Where the spellings diverge

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

6 ch
fallen
6 ch
falten

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. fallen ([ˈfaʝẽn]) and falten ([ˈfal̪t̪ẽn]) 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 a single letter - l in “fallen” becomes t in “falten”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 59511, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

fallen is recorded at frequency rank #32,664, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈfaʝẽn]. falten is at rank #26,847, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈfal̪t̪ẽn].

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 59511, this pair ranks #62,335 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of fallen vs falten

Shared letters: aefln. Private to "fallen": -. Private to "falten": t.

"fallen" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC  ·  "falten" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • fallenafllen · faleln · falen · fallenn · fallne · ffallen · flalen
  • faltenaflten · faletn · fallten · faltenn · faltne · faltten · fatlen · ffalten

Frequency comparison

fallen#32,664
falten#26,847

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "fallen" and "falten" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ˈfaʝẽn] versus [ˈfal̪t̪ẽn]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "fallen" or "falten"?
"falten" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #26,847 in our Spanish list, against #32,664 for "fallen". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering fallen vs falten

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Read both glosses above and match the meaning you intend, only context separates this pair.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “fallen” 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 FrequencyWords open word-frequency list