Whether it's set for a mouse, a villain, or an unsuspecting tourist, Germans call it a Falle. But the word doesn’t just spring shut in cartoons—it’s also used for tricky situations, bad decisions, and emotional manipulation.
The noun Falle means trap, and it’s one of the 1000 most frequently used nouns in German. You’ll hear it in crime stories, warnings, idioms, and life advice.
It’s a feminine noun, so we say die Falle.
Pronunciation
Falle is pronounced [FAH-luh], with:
- A short “a”, like in “father,”
- A soft “l,”
- And a lightly spoken final “e,” sounding like “uh.”
It’s snappy but soft—just like some real traps.
Example sentences:
- Die Maus ging in die Falle.
The mouse walked into the trap. - Das war eine klassische Falle: zu schön, um wahr zu sein.
That was a classic trap—too good to be true.
Nuance and usage tips
Falle can be:
- A literal trap
- Mausefalle – mousetrap
- Fallensteller – trapper
- in eine Falle tappen – to walk into a trap
- A metaphorical trap or snare
- Kostenfalle – cost trap (e.g., hidden fees)
- Falle der Gewohnheit – trap of habit
- emotionale Falle – emotional trap
- A situation you can't easily escape
- Er sitzt in der Falle. – He’s stuck / cornered.
- Die Schuldenfalle – debt trap
Its antonym? There's no exact one, but Ausweg (masculine, der Ausweg)—way out or escape route—makes a fitting opposite.
Grammatical case examples:
- Nominative:
Die Falle wurde heimlich aufgestellt.
The trap was secretly set. - Accusative:
Er fiel in die Falle.
He fell into the trap. - Dative:
Mit der Falle wollte man den Einbrecher schnappen.
With the trap, they hoped to catch the burglar. - Genitive:
Wegen der Falle konnten wir nicht weitergehen.
Because of the trap, we couldn’t go further.
Feminine case pattern: die, die, der, der
Word variations and language tidbits
Variation Station:
- Fallen – plural: traps
- Fallensteller – trapper
- in eine Falle geraten – to fall into a trap
- Falle stellen – to set a trap
- Kostenfalle, Steuerfalle, Schuldenfalle – all metaphorical traps for your wallet
Fun usage note:
The idiom in die Falle tappen is used very often in German to mean “to be tricked,” “to fall for something,” or “to make a predictable mistake.” It’s useful both in casual speech and formal writing.
📘 Duden entry: https://www.duden.de/rechtschreibung/Falle
🎥 Learn Falle and the rest of the top 1000 German nouns in our free online video course:
https://deutschable.com/nouns/
Alternate translations note:
For a pitfall or snare in a more poetic or formal sense, you might see Schlinge or Tücke—but these are rare. In nearly all everyday uses, from mousetraps to life traps, Falle is your word.
Ready for more German words of the day? Do you know what Firma means? How about Fluch? Find out!