Which to use
“fasten” is a verb and “fate” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #15,357
- “fasten” frequency rank
- #35,761
- “fate” frequency rank
- 51118
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | fasten | fate |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | (aus körperlichen oder religiösen Gründen) für eine bestimmte Zeit auf alle oder gewisse Nahrung verzichten | die (eher leidlichen) Dinge oder Umstände, die jemandem widerfahren; Geschick, Schicksal |
Where the eye mixes fasten and fate
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. fasten runs 6 letters (CVCCVC) against fate's 4 (CVCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Look-alike desk: fasten vs fate
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: fasten is [ˈfastn̩] while fate is [feɪt]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 2 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 51118, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
fasten is recorded at frequency rank #15,357, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈfastn̩]. fate is at rank #35,761, tagged as anoun, pronounced [feɪt].
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 51118, this pair ranks #1,147,735 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of fasten vs fate
Shared letters: aeft. Private to "fasten": ns. Private to "fate": -.
"fasten" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC · "fate" · 4 letters · shape CVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "fasten" and "fate" mean the same thing in a sentence?
In ordinary German text, does "fasten" or "fate" show up more?
What to do next
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "fasten" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "fate" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,147,735 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "fasten" and "fate" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "fate vs flame". 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 #1,147,735 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.