Which to use
“farbig” is an adjective and “Färbung” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #20,245
- “farbig” frequency rank
- #14,070
- “Färbung” frequency rank
- 34315
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | farbig | Färbung |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | mit einer oder mehreren Farben versehen; nicht schwarz, weiß oder grau | das Färben beziehungsweise Gefärbtwerden |
Where the eye mixes farbig and Färbung
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. farbig runs 6 letters (CVCCVC) against Färbung's 7 (CVCCVCC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Look-alike desk: farbig vs Färbung
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: farbig is [ˈfaʁbɪç] while Färbung is [ˈfɛʁbʊŋ]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (adjective vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 34315, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
farbig is recorded at frequency rank #20,245, classified as anadj, pronounced [ˈfaʁbɪç]. Färbung is at rank #14,070, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈfɛʁbʊŋ].
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 34315, this pair ranks #1,666,136 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of farbig vs Färbung
Shared letters: bfgr. Private to "farbig": ai. Private to "Färbung": nuä.
"farbig" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC · "Färbung" · 7 letters · shape CVCCVCC
Known mistypes of this pair
- farbig ← afrbig · fabrig · farbbig · farbgi · farbigg · faribg · farrbig · ffarbig
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "farbig" and "Färbung" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "farbig" or "Färbung"?
After this comparison
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "farbig" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "Färbung" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,666,136 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "farbig" and "Färbung" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Färber vs farbig". 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 #1,666,136 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.