FährevsfarWhat's the difference?

Which to use

“Fähre” and “far” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#10,659
“Fähre” frequency rank
#16,418
“far” frequency rank
27077
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Fähre far
Definition spezielles Schiff, das der (gewerbsmäßigen) Beförderung von Personen und/oder Transportmitteln von Ufer zu Ufer dient Vater

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set Fähre and far apart are highlighted. They share 2 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

5 ch
Fähre
3 ch
far

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. Fähre ([ˈfɛːʁə]) and far ([faː]) 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 2 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 27077, 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]. far is at rank #16,418, tagged as anoun, pronounced [faː].

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 27077, this pair ranks #1,807,721 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of Fähre vs far

Shared letters: fr. Private to "Fähre": ehä. Private to "far": a.

"Fähre" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV  ·  "far" · 3 letters · shape CVC

Frequency comparison

Fähre#10,659
far#16,418

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "Fähre" and "far" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ˈfɛːʁə] versus [faː]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "Fähre" or "far"?
"Fähre" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #10,659 in our German list, against #16,418 for "far". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering Fähre vs far

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Read both glosses above and match the meaning you intend, only context separates this pair.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “Fähre” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list