Which to use
“Fähre” and “fairy” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #10,659
- “Fähre” frequency rank
- #48,134
- “fairy” frequency rank
- 58793
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | Fähre | fairy |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | spezielles Schiff, das der (gewerbsmäßigen) Beförderung von Personen und/oder Transportmitteln von Ufer zu Ufer dient | die Fee |
Where the eye mixes Fähre and fairy
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence. Fähre (CVCCV) and fairy (CVVCV) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.
Visual trap between Fähre and fairy
A purely visual mix-up. Fähre ([ˈfɛːʁə]) and fairy ([ˈfɛəɹɪ]) 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 3 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 58793, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
Fähre is recorded at frequency rank #10,659, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈfɛːʁə]. fairy is at rank #48,134, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈfɛəɹɪ].
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 58793, this pair ranks #849,074 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of Fähre vs fairy
Shared letters: fr. Private to "Fähre": ehä. Private to "fairy": aiy.
"Fähre" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV · "fairy" · 5 letters · shape CVVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
- fairy ← afiry · fairry · fairyy · faiyr · fariy · ffairy · fiary
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "Fähre" for "fairy" ever safe?
In ordinary German text, does "Fähre" or "fairy" 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 "Fähre" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "fairy" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #849,074 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "Fähre" and "fairy" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "fairy vs firm". 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 #849,074 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.