Which to use
“fahrenden” and “fehlenden” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #18,537
- “fahrenden” frequency rank
- #6,297
- “fehlenden” frequency rank
- 24834
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | fahrenden | fehlenden |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Genitiv Singular Maskulinum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs fahrend | Genitiv Singular Maskulinum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs fehlend |
Where the eye mixes fahrenden and fehlenden
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence. fahrenden and fehlenden follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (CVCCVCCVC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.
Visual trap between fahrenden and fehlenden
A purely visual mix-up. fahrenden ([ˈfaːʁəndn̩]) and fehlenden ([ˈfeːləndn̩]) 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 24834, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
fahrenden is recorded at frequency rank #18,537, classified as anadj, pronounced [ˈfaːʁəndn̩]. fehlenden is at rank #6,297, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ˈfeːləndn̩].
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 24834, this pair ranks #1,842,019 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of fahrenden vs fehlenden
Shared letters: defhn. Private to "fahrenden": ar. Private to "fehlenden": l.
"fahrenden" · 9 letters · shape CVCCVCCVC · "fehlenden" · 9 letters · shape CVCCVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "fahrenden" for "fehlenden" ever safe?
Which is more common, "fahrenden" or "fehlenden"?
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 "fahrenden" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "fehlenden" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,842,019 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "fahrenden" and "fehlenden" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "fahrenden vs fassenden". 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 #1,842,019 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.