fassenvsFassungWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: fassen is a verb, Fassung is a noun, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“fassen” is a verb and “Fassung” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#3,115
“fassen” frequency rank
#3,959
“Fassung” frequency rank
7074
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature fassen Fassung
Definition etwas greifen und festhalten Befestigung, Halterung für etwas

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set fassen and Fassung apart are highlighted. They share 5 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

6 ch
fassen
7 ch
Fassung

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: fassen is [ˈfasn̩] while Fassung is [ˈfasʊŋ]. 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 (verb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 7074, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

fassen is recorded at frequency rank #3,115, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈfasn̩]. Fassung is at rank #3,959, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈfasʊŋ].

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 7074, this pair ranks #1,989,468 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of fassen vs Fassung

Shared letters: afns. Private to "fassen": e. Private to "Fassung": gu.

"fassen" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC  ·  "Fassung" · 7 letters · shape CVCCVCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • fassenafssen · fasen · fasesn · fassenn · fassne · faßen · ffassen · fsasen
  • Fassungafssung · fassnug · fassugn · fassungg · fassunng · fasung · fasusng · faßung

Frequency comparison

fassen#3,115
Fassung#3,959

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "fassen" and "Fassung" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "fassen" is a verb and "Fassung" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "fassen" or "Fassung"?
"fassen" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #3,115 in our German list, against #3,959 for "Fassung". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering fassen vs Fassung

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

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