Which to use
“fahrende” and “fehlende” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #26,864
- “fahrende” frequency rank
- #4,983
- “fehlende” frequency rank
- 31847
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | fahrende | fehlende |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Nominativ Singular Femininum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs fahrend | Nominativ Singular Femininum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs fehlend |
Where the eye mixes fahrende and fehlende
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: fahrende vs fehlende
A purely visual mix-up. fahrende ([ˈfaːʁəndə]) and fehlende ([ˈfeːləndə]) 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 31847, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
fahrende is recorded at frequency rank #26,864, classified as anadj, pronounced [ˈfaːʁəndə]. fehlende is at rank #4,983, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ˈfeːləndə].
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 31847, this pair ranks #1,719,828 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of fahrende vs fehlende
Shared letters: defhn. Private to "fahrende": ar. Private to "fehlende": l.
"fahrende" · 8 letters · shape CVCCVCCV · "fehlende" · 8 letters · shape CVCCVCCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "fahrende" for "fehlende" ever safe?
Which is more common, "fahrende" or "fehlende"?
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 "fahrende" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "fehlende" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,719,828 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "fahrende" and "fehlende" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "fahrende vs führendes". 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 #1,719,828 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.