Which to use
“fade” and “fine” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #37,506
- “fade” frequency rank
- #15,086
- “fine” frequency rank
- 52592
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | fade | fine |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | ohne oder mit nur wenig Geschmack | ausgezeichnet |
Where the eye mixes fade and fine
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between fade and fine
A purely visual mix-up. fade ([ˈfaːdə]) and fine ([faɪn]) 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 52592, 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]. fine is at rank #15,086, tagged as anadj, pronounced [faɪn].
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 52592, this pair ranks #1,090,782 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of fade vs fine
Shared letters: ef. Private to "fade": ad. Private to "fine": in.
"fade" · 4 letters · shape CVCV · "fine" · 4 letters · shape CVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "fade" for "fine" ever safe?
Frequency check: "fade" vs "fine" - which ranks higher?
After this comparison
Eye-level mix-up between "fade" and "fine" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "fade" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "fine" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,090,782 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "fade" and "fine" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "fade vs flame". 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 #1,090,782 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.