fastvsfisWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: fast is a adverb, fis is a verb, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“fast” is an adverb and “fis” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#243
“fast” frequency rank
#26,408
“fis” frequency rank
26651
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature fast fis
Definition nicht ganz 1. Person Singulra Indikativ historisches Perfekt Aktiv des Verbs faire

Where the eye mixes fast and fis

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.

4 ch
fast
3 ch
fis

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: fast is [fast] while fis is [fi]. 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 (adverb vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 26651, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

fast is recorded at frequency rank #243, classified as anadv, pronounced [fast]. fis is at rank #26,408, tagged as averb, pronounced [fi].

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 26651, this pair ranks #1,814,676 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of fast vs fis

Shared letters: fs. Private to "fast": at. Private to "fis": i.

"fast" · 4 letters · shape CVCC  ·  "fis" · 3 letters · shape CVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • fastafst · fastt · fats · ffast · fsat

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "fast" and "fis" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "fast" is an adverb and "fis" a verb, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "fast" or "fis"?
"fast" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #243 in our German list, against #26,408 for "fis". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

What to do next

You've compared "fast" and "fis". Here's where to go from here.

  • Full dictionary entry for "fast" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "fis" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,814,676 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "fast" and "fis" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "fis 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

PlainSpell is a reference corpus, not spelling advice. Verify unusual forms in context.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list