Which to use
“fassen” and “fesseln” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #3,115
- “fassen” frequency rank
- #11,428
- “fesseln” frequency rank
- 14543
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | fassen | fesseln |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | etwas greifen und festhalten | jemanden (an etwas) festbinden und damit bewegungsunfähig machen |
Where the eye mixes fassen and fesseln
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. fassen runs 6 letters (CVCCVC) against fesseln's 7 (CVCCVCC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Look-alike desk: fassen vs fesseln
A purely visual mix-up. fassen ([ˈfasn̩]) and fesseln ([ˈfɛsl̩n]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 14543, 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]. fesseln is at rank #11,428, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈfɛsl̩n].
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 14543, this pair ranks #1,950,465 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of fassen vs fesseln
Shared letters: efns. Private to "fassen": a. Private to "fesseln": l.
"fassen" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC · "fesseln" · 7 letters · shape CVCCVCC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "fassen" and "fesseln" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Frequency check: "fassen" vs "fesseln" - which ranks higher?
Useful next steps
Eye-level mix-up between "fassen" and "fesseln" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "fassen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "fesseln" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,950,465 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "fassen" and "fesseln" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "fesseln vs fesselnd". 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 #1,950,465 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.