FakesvsfilesWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

“Fakes” and “files” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#47,380
“Fakes” frequency rank
#31,544
“files” frequency rank
78924
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Fakes files
Definition Genitiv Singular des Substantivs Fake Plural des Substantivs file

Where the eye mixes Fakes and files

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.

5 ch
Fakes
5 ch
files

Look-alike desk: Fakes vs files

A purely visual mix-up. Fakes ([fɛɪ̯ks]) and files ([faɪlz]) 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 78924, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Fakes is recorded at frequency rank #47,380, classified as anoun, pronounced [fɛɪ̯ks]. files is at rank #31,544, tagged as anoun, pronounced [faɪlz].

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 78924, this pair ranks #227,555 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of Fakes vs files

Shared letters: efs. Private to "Fakes": ak. Private to "files": il.

"Fakes" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC  ·  "files" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Fakesafkes · faeks · fakess · fakkes · fakse · ffakes · fkaes
  • filesffiles · fiels · filess · filles · filse · flies · ifles

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "Fakes" and "files" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([fɛɪ̯ks] versus [faɪlz]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "Fakes" or "files"?
"files" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #31,544 in our German list, against #47,380 for "Fakes". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Useful next steps

Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.

  • Full dictionary entry for "Fakes" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "files" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #227,555 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Fakes" and "files" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Fachs vs Fakes". 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 #227,555 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list