Which to use
“fail” and “Filz” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #27,286
- “fail” frequency rank
- #24,717
- “Filz” frequency rank
- 52003
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | fail | Filz |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | ein Ausfall, ein Fehlschlag | wirrer Faserstoff, der aus nicht gesponnenen (Tier)haaren oder Wolle durch Zusammenpressen hergestellt wird |
Where the eye mixes fail and Filz
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses fail with Filz
A purely visual mix-up. fail ([feɪl]) and Filz ([fɪlt͡s]) 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 52003, 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]. Filz is at rank #24,717, tagged as anoun, pronounced [fɪlt͡s].
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 52003, this pair ranks #1,113,661 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of fail vs Filz
Shared letters: fil. Private to "fail": a. Private to "Filz": z.
"fail" · 4 letters · shape CVVC · "Filz" · 4 letters · shape CVCC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "fail" and "Filz" mean the same thing in a sentence?
In ordinary German text, does "fail" or "Filz" show up more?
After this comparison
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 "Filz" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,113,661 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "fail" and "Filz" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "fail vs fils". 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 #1,113,661 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.