FachvsFassConfusable pair

Which to use

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

#3,440
“Fach” frequency rank
#7,605
“Fass” frequency rank
11045
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Fach Fass
Definition der durch das Balkengerüst beziehungsweise die tragenden Balken gebildete und mit Lehm oder Ziegeln ausgefüllte Zwischenraum einer Fachwerkwand (auch Gefach) ein Behälter aus Holz, Metall, Plastik zur Aufbewahrung und zum Transport von flüssigen Gütern, Schüttgütern und Ähnlichem

Where the eye mixes Fach and Fass

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence. Fach and Fass follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (CVCC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.

4 ch
Fach
4 ch
Fass

Visual trap between Fach and Fass

A purely visual mix-up. Fach ([fax]) and Fass ([fas]) 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 11045, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Fach is recorded at frequency rank #3,440, classified as anoun, pronounced [fax]. Fass is at rank #7,605, tagged as anoun, pronounced [fas].

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 11045, this pair ranks #1,971,976 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of Fach vs Fass

Shared letters: af. Private to "Fach": ch. Private to "Fass": s.

"Fach" · 4 letters · shape CVCC  ·  "Fass" · 4 letters · shape CVCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Fachafch · facch · fachh · fahc · fcah · ffach
  • Fassafss · faß · ffass · fsas

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "Fach" and "Fass" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([fax] versus [fas]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
In ordinary German text, does "Fach" or "Fass" show up more?
"Fach" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #3,440 in our German list, against #7,605 for "Fass". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.

  • Full dictionary entry for "Fach" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Fass" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,971,976 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Fach" and "Fass" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Fass vs fist". 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 #1,971,976 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