FabelvsfidelWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: Fabel is a noun, fidel is an adjective, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“Fabel” is a noun and “fidel” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#38,092
“Fabel” frequency rank
#26,406
“fidel” frequency rank
64498
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Fabel fidel
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 in bester Laune

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set Fabel and fidel apart are highlighted. They share 3 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

5 ch
Fabel
5 ch
fidel

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: Fabel is [ˈfaːbl̩] while fidel is [fiˈdeːl]. 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 adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 64498, 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]. fidel is at rank #26,406, tagged as anadj, pronounced [fiˈdeːl].

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 64498, this pair ranks #639,422 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of Fabel vs fidel

Shared letters: efl. Private to "Fabel": ab. Private to "fidel": di.

"Fabel" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC  ·  "fidel" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Fabelafbel · fabbel · fabell · fable · faebl · fbael · ffabel
  • fidelfdiel · ffidel · fiddel · fidell · fidle · ifdel

Frequency comparison

Fabel#38,092
fidel#26,406

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "Fabel" and "fidel" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "Fabel" is a noun and "fidel" an adjective, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "Fabel" or "fidel"?
"fidel" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #26,406 in our German list, against #38,092 for "Fabel". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering Fabel vs fidel

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a noun, it's “Fabel”; for an adjective, it's “fidel”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “Fabel” 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