Which to use
“fast” is an adverb and “faul” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #243
- “fast” frequency rank
- #5,826
- “faul” frequency rank
- 6069
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | fast | faul |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | nicht ganz | nicht mehr frisch; verrottet, verfault |
Where the eye mixes fast and faul
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: fast is [fast] while faul is [faʊ̯l]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (adverb vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 6069, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
fast is recorded at frequency rank #243, classified as anadv, pronounced [fast]. faul is at rank #5,826, tagged as anadj, pronounced [faʊ̯l].
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 6069, this pair ranks #1,992,823 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of fast vs faul
Shared letters: af. Private to "fast": st. Private to "faul": lu.
"fast" · 4 letters · shape CVCC · "faul" · 4 letters · shape CVVC