Which to use
“fad” is an adjective and “feed” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #36,315
- “fad” frequency rank
- #14,564
- “feed” frequency rank
- 50879
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | fad | feed |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | geschmacklos, wässrig | jemandem oder etwas Nahrung geben |
Where the eye mixes fad and feed
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses fad with feed
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: fad is [faːt] while feed is [fiːd]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (adjective vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 50879, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
fad is recorded at frequency rank #36,315, classified as anadj, pronounced [faːt]. feed is at rank #14,564, tagged as averb, pronounced [fiːd].
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 50879, this pair ranks #1,156,834 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of fad vs feed
Shared letters: df. Private to "fad": a. Private to "feed": e.
"fad" · 3 letters · shape CVC · "feed" · 4 letters · shape CVVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- feed ← efed · fede · feedd · ffeed
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "fad" and "feed" mean the same thing in a sentence?
In ordinary German text, does "fad" or "feed" show up more?
Useful next steps
Eye-level mix-up between "fad" and "feed" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "fad" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "feed" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,156,834 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "fad" and "feed" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Fack vs fad". 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 #1,156,834 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.