Which to use
“fail” and “fils” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #27,286
- “fail” frequency rank
- #49,670
- “fils” frequency rank
- 76956
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | fail | fils |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | ein Ausfall, ein Fehlschlag | männlicher Nachkomme: Sohn |
Where the eye mixes fail and fils
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence. fail (CVVC) and fils (CVCC) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.
Why the eye confuses fail with fils
A purely visual mix-up. fail ([feɪl]) and fils ([fis]) 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 76956, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
fail is recorded at frequency rank #27,286, classified as anoun, pronounced [feɪl]. fils is at rank #49,670, tagged as anoun, pronounced [fis].
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 76956, this pair ranks #271,832 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of fail vs fils
Shared letters: fil. Private to "fail": a. Private to "fils": s.
"fail" · 4 letters · shape CVVC · "fils" · 4 letters · shape CVCC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "fail" and "fils" be used interchangeably?
Frequency check: "fail" vs "fils" - which ranks higher?
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 "fail" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "fils" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #271,832 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "fail" and "fils" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "fils vs fist". 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 #271,832 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.