Which to use
“fade” is an adjective and “fas” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #37,506
- “fade” frequency rank
- #38,095
- “fas” frequency rank
- 75601
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | fade | fas |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | ohne oder mit nur wenig Geschmack | 2. Person Singular Imperativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs fasen |
Where the eye mixes fade and fas
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence. fade runs 4 letters (CVCV) against fas's 3 (CVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses fade with fas
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: fade is [ˈfaːdə] while fas is [faːs]. 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 75601, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
fade is recorded at frequency rank #37,506, classified as anadj, pronounced [ˈfaːdə]. fas is at rank #38,095, tagged as averb, pronounced [faːs].
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 75601, this pair ranks #303,983 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of fade vs fas
Shared letters: af. Private to "fade": de. Private to "fas": s.
"fade" · 4 letters · shape CVCV · "fas" · 3 letters · shape CVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- fade ← afde · fadde · faed · fdae · ffade
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "fade" and "fas" mean the same thing in a sentence?
In ordinary German text, does "fade" or "fas" show up more?
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 "fade" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "fas" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #303,983 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "fade" and "fas" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "fas vs fist". 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 #303,983 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.