fändevsfasseWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#9,197
“fände” frequency rank
#18,539
“fasse” frequency rank
27736
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature fände fasse
Definition 1. Person Singular Konjunktiv II Präteritum Aktiv des Verbs finden 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs fassen

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set fände and fasse apart are highlighted. They share 2 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

5 ch
fände
5 ch
fasse

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. fände ([ˈfɛndə]) and fasse ([ˈfasə]) 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 27736, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

fände is recorded at frequency rank #9,197, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈfɛndə]. fasse is at rank #18,539, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈfasə].

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 27736, this pair ranks #1,796,728 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of fände vs fasse

Shared letters: ef. Private to "fände": dnä. Private to "fasse": as.

"fände" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV  ·  "fasse" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • fasseafsse · fase · fases · faße · ffasse · fsase

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "fände" and "fasse" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ˈfɛndə] versus [ˈfasə]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "fände" or "fasse"?
"fände" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #9,197 in our German list, against #18,539 for "fasse". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list