FabelvsFakesWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#38,092
“Fabel” frequency rank
#47,380
“Fakes” frequency rank
85472
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Fabel Fakes
Definition eine Form der Erzählung, in der menschliche Verhaltensweisen auf Tiere (seltener auf Pflanzen oder Dinge) übertragen werden, um so auf unterhaltsame Weise eine bestimmte Moral zu vermitteln Genitiv Singular des Substantivs Fake

Where the eye mixes Fabel and Fakes

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.

5 ch
Fabel
5 ch
Fakes

Look-alike desk: Fabel vs Fakes

A purely visual mix-up. Fabel ([ˈfaːbl̩]) and Fakes ([fɛɪ̯ks]) 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 85472, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Fabel is recorded at frequency rank #38,092, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈfaːbl̩]. Fakes is at rank #47,380, tagged as anoun, pronounced [fɛɪ̯ks].

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 85472, this pair ranks #107,792 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of Fabel vs Fakes

Shared letters: aef. Private to "Fabel": bl. Private to "Fakes": ks.

"Fabel" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC  ·  "Fakes" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Fabelafbel · fabbel · fabell · fable · faebl · fbael · ffabel
  • Fakesafkes · faeks · fakess · fakkes · fakse · ffakes · fkaes

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "Fabel" and "Fakes" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([ˈfaːbl̩] versus [fɛɪ̯ks]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "Fabel" or "Fakes"?
"Fabel" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #38,092 in our German list, against #47,380 for "Fakes". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.

  • Full dictionary entry for "Fabel" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Fakes" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #107,792 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Fabel" and "Fakes" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Fachs vs Fakes". 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 #107,792 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