Which to use
“fähige” is an adjective and “Fährte” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #31,051
- “fähige” frequency rank
- #33,594
- “Fährte” frequency rank
- 64645
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | fähige | Fährte |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Nominativ Singular Femininum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs fähig | Fußabdrücke (eines Tieres) auf dem Boden |
Where the eye mixes fähige and Fährte
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. fähige (CVCVCV) and Fährte (CVCCCV) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.
Visual trap between fähige and Fährte
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: fähige is [ˈfɛːɪɡə] while Fährte is [ˈfɛːɐ̯tə]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (adjective vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 64645, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
fähige is recorded at frequency rank #31,051, classified as anadj, pronounced [ˈfɛːɪɡə]. Fährte is at rank #33,594, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈfɛːɐ̯tə].
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 64645, this pair ranks #634,190 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of fähige vs Fährte
Shared letters: efhä. Private to "fähige": gi. Private to "Fährte": rt.
"fähige" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCV · "Fährte" · 6 letters · shape CVCCCV
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "fähige" for "Fährte" ever safe?
In ordinary German text, does "fähige" or "Fährte" show up more?
Useful next steps
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "fähige" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "Fährte" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #634,190 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "fähige" and "Fährte" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "fähige vs fällige". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #634,190 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.