Which to use
“fachen” and “falten” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #29,116
- “fachen” frequency rank
- #10,852
- “falten” frequency rank
- 39968
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | fachen | falten |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | machen, dass es (gut) brennt | umbiegen und zusammenlegen |
Where the eye mixes fachen and falten
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. fachen and falten follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (CVCCVC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.
Why the eye confuses fachen with falten
A purely visual mix-up. fachen ([ˈfaxn̩]) and falten ([ˈfaltn̩]) 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 39968, 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]. falten is at rank #10,852, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈfaltn̩].
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 39968, this pair ranks #1,521,804 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of fachen vs falten
Shared letters: aefn. Private to "fachen": ch. Private to "falten": lt.
"fachen" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC · "falten" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "fachen" for "falten" ever safe?
Which is more common, "fachen" or "falten"?
Useful next steps
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "fachen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "falten" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,521,804 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "fachen" and "falten" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "fachen vs Fachs". 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 #1,521,804 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.