Which to use
“fairy” and “ferry” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #48,134
- “fairy” frequency rank
- #49,668
- “ferry” frequency rank
- 97802
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | fairy | ferry |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | die Fee | ein Boot oder Schiff zum regelmäßigen Transport von Passagieren und Gütern über kürzere Strecken |
Where the eye mixes fairy and ferry
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence. fairy (CVVCV) and ferry (CVCCV) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.
Visual trap between fairy and ferry
A purely visual mix-up. fairy ([ˈfɛəɹɪ]) and ferry ([ˈfɛri]) 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 97802, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
fairy is recorded at frequency rank #48,134, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈfɛəɹɪ]. ferry is at rank #49,668, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈfɛri].
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 97802, this pair ranks #2,796 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of fairy vs ferry
Shared letters: fry. Private to "fairy": ai. Private to "ferry": e.
"fairy" · 5 letters · shape CVVCV · "ferry" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "fairy" and "ferry" be used interchangeably?
In ordinary German text, does "fairy" or "ferry" show up more?
What to do next
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "fairy" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "ferry" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #2,796 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "fairy" and "ferry" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "fairy vs firm". 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 #2,796 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.