FächernvsFässernWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

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

#11,237
“Fächern” frequency rank
#41,825
“Fässern” frequency rank
53062
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Fächern Fässern
Definition Dativ Plural des Substantivs Fächer Dativ Plural des Substantivs Fass

Where the eye mixes Fächern and Fässern

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence.

7 ch
Fächern
7 ch
Fässern

Visual trap between Fächern and Fässern

A purely visual mix-up. Fächern ([ˈfɛçɐn]) and Fässern ([ˈfɛsɐn]) 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 53062, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Fächern is recorded at frequency rank #11,237, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈfɛçɐn]. Fässern is at rank #41,825, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈfɛsɐn].

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 53062, this pair ranks #1,072,564 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of Fächern vs Fässern

Shared letters: efnrä. Private to "Fächern": ch. Private to "Fässern": s.

"Fächern" · 7 letters · shape CVCCVCC  ·  "Fässern" · 7 letters · shape CVCCVCC

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "Fächern" and "Fässern" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([ˈfɛçɐn] versus [ˈfɛsɐn]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "Fächern" vs "Fässern" - which ranks higher?
"Fächern" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #11,237 in our German list, against #41,825 for "Fässern". 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 "Fächern" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Fässern" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,072,564 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Fächern" and "Fässern" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Fässern vs fassten". Nearby pair

Confusion rank #1,072,564 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