Which to use
“Fährte” is a noun and “fehlte” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #33,594
- “Fährte” frequency rank
- #5,362
- “fehlte” frequency rank
- 38956
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | Fährte | fehlte |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Fußabdrücke (eines Tieres) auf dem Boden | 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präteritum Aktiv des Verbs fehlen |
Where the spellings diverge
Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set Fährte and fehlte apart are highlighted. They share 4 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: Fährte is [ˈfɛːɐ̯tə] while fehlte is [ˈfeːltə]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 38956, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
Fährte is recorded at frequency rank #33,594, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈfɛːɐ̯tə]. fehlte is at rank #5,362, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈfeːltə].
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 38956, this pair ranks #1,550,093 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of Fährte vs fehlte
Shared letters: efht. Private to "Fährte": rä. Private to "fehlte": l.
"Fährte" · 6 letters · shape CVCCCV · "fehlte" · 6 letters · shape CVCCCV
Known mistypes of this pair
- fehlte ← efhlte · fehhlte · fehlet · fehllte · fehltte · fehtle · felhte · ffehlte
Frequency comparison
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "Fährte" and "fehlte" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "Fährte" or "fehlte"?
Remembering Fährte vs fehlte
The fastest way to pick the right one every time.
- Check the role first: if you need a noun, it's “Fährte”; for a verb, it's “fehlte”.
- See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “Fährte” entry
- Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable