Which to use
“fas” is a verb and “fast” is an adverb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #38,095
- “fas” frequency rank
- #243
- “fast” frequency rank
- 38338
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | fas | fast |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | 2. Person Singular Imperativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs fasen | nicht ganz |
Where the eye mixes fas and fast
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence. fas runs 3 letters (CVC) against fast's 4 (CVCC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses fas with fast
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: fas is [faːs] while fast is [fast]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 extra letter(s) - “fas” sits inside “fast”, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs adverb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 38338, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
fas is recorded at frequency rank #38,095, classified as averb, pronounced [faːs]. fast is at rank #243, tagged as anadv, pronounced [fast].
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 38338, this pair ranks #1,566,570 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of fas vs fast
Shared letters: afs. Private to "fas": -. Private to "fast": t.
"fas" · 3 letters · shape CVC · "fast" · 4 letters · shape CVCC
Known mistypes of this pair
- fast ← afst · fastt · fats · ffast · fsat
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "fas" and "fast" mean the same thing in a sentence?
In ordinary German text, does "fas" or "fast" show up more?
Useful next steps
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "fas" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "fast" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,566,570 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "fas" and "fast" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "fas vs fist". 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 #1,566,570 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.