Which to use
“fatale” and “faule” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #24,712
- “fatale” frequency rank
- #19,209
- “faule” frequency rank
- 43921
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | fatale | faule |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Nominativ Singular Femininum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs fatal | Nominativ Singular Femininum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs faul |
Where the eye mixes fatale and faule
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. fatale runs 6 letters (CVCVCV) against faule's 5 (CVVCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Look-alike desk: fatale vs faule
A purely visual mix-up. fatale ([faˈtaːlə]) and faule ([ˈfaʊ̯lə]) 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 43921, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
fatale is recorded at frequency rank #24,712, classified as anadj, pronounced [faˈtaːlə]. faule is at rank #19,209, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ˈfaʊ̯lə].
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 43921, this pair ranks #1,402,757 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of fatale vs faule
Shared letters: aefl. Private to "fatale": t. Private to "faule": u.
"fatale" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCV · "faule" · 5 letters · shape CVVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "fatale" for "faule" ever safe?
Which is more common, "fatale" or "faule"?
After this comparison
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "fatale" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "faule" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,402,757 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "fatale" and "faule" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "fata vs fatale". 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 #1,402,757 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.