farvsFSBWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#16,418
“far” frequency rank
#41,175
“FSB” frequency rank
57593
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature far FSB
Definition Vater russischer Inlandsgeheimdienst und Geheimpolizei

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set far and FSB apart are highlighted. They share 1 letter in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

3 ch
far
3 ch
FSB

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. far ([faː]) and FSB ([ɛfʔɛsˈbeː]) 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 57593, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

far is recorded at frequency rank #16,418, classified as anoun, pronounced [faː]. FSB is at rank #41,175, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ɛfʔɛsˈbeː].

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 57593, this pair ranks #895,437 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of far vs FSB

Shared letters: f. Private to "far": ar. Private to "FSB": bs.

"far" · 3 letters · shape CVC  ·  "FSB" · 3 letters · shape CCC

Frequency comparison

far#16,418
FSB#41,175

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "far" and "FSB" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([faː] versus [ɛfʔɛsˈbeː]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "far" or "FSB"?
"far" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #16,418 in our German list, against #41,175 for "FSB". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering far vs FSB

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Read both glosses above and match the meaning you intend, only context separates this pair.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “far” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list