fangevsfängstTell them apart

Which to use

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

#8,859
“fange” frequency rank
#26,420
“fängst” frequency rank
35279
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature fange fängst
Definition 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs fangen 2. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs fangen

Where the eye mixes fange and fängst

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence. fange runs 5 letters (CVCCV) against fängst's 6 (CVCCCC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

5 ch
fange
6 ch
fängst

Look-alike desk: fange vs fängst

A purely visual mix-up. fange ([ˈfaŋə]) and fängst ([fɛŋst]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 35279, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

fange is recorded at frequency rank #8,859, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈfaŋə]. fängst is at rank #26,420, tagged as averb, pronounced [fɛŋst].

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 35279, this pair ranks #1,643,693 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of fange vs fängst

Shared letters: fgn. Private to "fange": ae. Private to "fängst": stä.

"fange" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV  ·  "fängst" · 6 letters · shape CVCCCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • fange ← afnge · fagne · faneg · fangge · fannge · ffange · fnage

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "fange" for "fängst" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([ˈfaŋə] versus [fɛŋst]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "fange" or "fängst"?
"fange" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #8,859 in our German list, against #26,420 for "fängst". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

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

  • Full dictionary entry for "fange" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "fängst" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,643,693 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "fange" and "fängst" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "fandest vs fängst". 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 #1,643,693 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