Which to use
“fachen” and “fälschen” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #29,116
- “fachen” frequency rank
- #32,539
- “fälschen” frequency rank
- 61655
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | fachen | fälschen |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | machen, dass es (gut) brennt | in betrügerischer Absicht etwas herstellen, das wirken soll, als hätte es einen anderen Urheber |
Where the eye mixes fachen and fälschen
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. fachen runs 6 letters (CVCCVC) against fälschen's 8 (CVCCCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Visual trap between fachen and fälschen
A purely visual mix-up. fachen ([ˈfaxn̩]) and fälschen ([ˈfɛlʃn̩]) 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 2 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 61655, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
fachen is recorded at frequency rank #29,116, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈfaxn̩]. fälschen is at rank #32,539, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈfɛlʃn̩].
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 61655, this pair ranks #741,588 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of fachen vs fälschen
Shared letters: cefhn. Private to "fachen": a. Private to "fälschen": lsä.
"fachen" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC · "fälschen" · 8 letters · shape CVCCCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- fachen ← afchen · facchen · facehn · fachenn · fachhen · fachne · fahcen · fcahen
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "fachen" and "fälschen" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Frequency check: "fachen" vs "fälschen" - which ranks higher?
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 "fachen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "fälschen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #741,588 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "fachen" and "fälschen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "fälschen vs Fröschen". 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 #741,588 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.