FachvsFaxConfusable pair

Which to use

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

#3,440
“Fach” frequency rank
#12,705
“Fax” frequency rank
16145
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Fach Fax
Definition der durch das Balkengerüst beziehungsweise die tragenden Balken gebildete und mit Lehm oder Ziegeln ausgefüllte Zwischenraum einer Fachwerkwand (auch Gefach) per Telefonleitung übermitteltes Dokument, Schriftstück, Foto oder Zeichnung

Where the eye mixes Fach and Fax

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.

4 ch
Fach
3 ch
Fax

Look-alike desk: Fach vs Fax

A purely visual mix-up. Fach ([fax]) and Fax ([faks]) 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 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 16145, 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]. Fax is at rank #12,705, tagged as anoun, pronounced [faks].

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 16145, this pair ranks #1,938,219 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of Fach vs Fax

Shared letters: af. Private to "Fach": ch. Private to "Fax": x.

"Fach" · 4 letters · shape CVCC  ·  "Fax" · 3 letters · shape CVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Fachafch · facch · fachh · fahc · fcah · ffach

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "Fach" for "Fax" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([fax] versus [faks]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "Fach" vs "Fax" - which ranks higher?
"Fach" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #3,440 in our German list, against #12,705 for "Fax". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

Eye-level mix-up between "Fach" and "Fax" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.

  • Full dictionary entry for "Fach" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Fax" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,938,219 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Fach" and "Fax" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Fack vs Fax". 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 #1,938,219 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