Which to use
“fail” is a noun and “fis” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #27,286
- “fail” frequency rank
- #26,408
- “fis” frequency rank
- 53694
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | fail | fis |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | ein Ausfall, ein Fehlschlag | 1. Person Singulra Indikativ historisches Perfekt Aktiv des Verbs faire |
Where the spellings diverge
Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set fail and fis apart are highlighted. They share 2 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: fail is [feɪl] while fis is [fi]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 53694, 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]. fis is at rank #26,408, tagged as averb, pronounced [fi].
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 53694, this pair ranks #1,048,037 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of fail vs fis
Shared letters: fi. Private to "fail": al. Private to "fis": s.
"fail" · 4 letters · shape CVVC · "fis" · 3 letters · shape CVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- fail ← afil · faill · fali · ffail · fial
Frequency comparison
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "fail" and "fis" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "fail" or "fis"?
Remembering fail vs fis
The fastest way to pick the right one every time.
- Check the role first: if you need a noun, it's “fail”; for a verb, it's “fis”.
- See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “fail” entry
- Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable