fassevsfesteWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: fasse is a verb, feste is an adjective, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“fasse” is a verb and “feste” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#18,539
“fasse” frequency rank
#3,372
“feste” frequency rank
21911
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature fasse feste
Definition 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs fassen Nominativ Singular Femininum Positiv der starken Flexion des Adjektivs fest

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set fasse and feste apart are highlighted. They share 3 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

5 ch
fasse
5 ch
feste

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

fasse and feste form a confusable pair in the German index, two distinct headwords that are easily confused because they look alike, sound alike, or both. They share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions - close enough that the eye skips over the difference, far enough that meaning fully diverges. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 21911, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

fasse is recorded at frequency rank #18,539, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈfasə]. feste is at rank #3,372, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ˈfɛstə].

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 21911, this pair ranks #1,880,676 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Frequency comparison

fasse#18,539
feste#3,372

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "fasse" and "feste" be used interchangeably?
No, "fasse" and "feste" have distinct meanings and cannot be swapped without changing the meaning of a sentence. Understanding the specific definition and context for each word is essential for correct usage.

Remembering fasse vs feste

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a verb, it's “fasse”; for an adjective, it's “feste”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “fasse” 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