Which to use
“fahnden” and “fangen” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #49,647
- “fahnden” frequency rank
- #4,270
- “fangen” frequency rank
- 53917
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | fahnden | fangen |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | (jemanden, etwas) polizeilich suchen (zwecks Verhaftung oder Beschlagnahme) | jemanden seiner Freiheit berauben |
Where the eye mixes fahnden and fangen
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. fahnden runs 7 letters (CVCCCVC) against fangen's 6 (CVCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Look-alike desk: fahnden vs fangen
A purely visual mix-up. fahnden ([ˈfaːndn̩]) and fangen ([ˈfaŋən]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 53917, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
fahnden is recorded at frequency rank #49,647, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈfaːndn̩]. fangen is at rank #4,270, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈfaŋən].
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 53917, this pair ranks #1,039,261 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of fahnden vs fangen
Shared letters: aefn. Private to "fahnden": dh. Private to "fangen": g.
"fahnden" · 7 letters · shape CVCCCVC · "fangen" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "fahnden" for "fangen" ever safe?
Frequency check: "fahnden" vs "fangen" - which ranks higher?
Useful next steps
Eye-level mix-up between "fahnden" and "fangen" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "fahnden" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "fangen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,039,261 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "fahnden" and "fangen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "fahnden vs fahndet". 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 #1,039,261 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.