Which to use
“faule” and “fauler” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #19,209
- “faule” frequency rank
- #30,043
- “fauler” frequency rank
- 49252
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | faule | fauler |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Nominativ Singular Femininum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs faul | Nominativ Singular Maskulinum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs faul |
Where the eye mixes faule and fauler
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. faule runs 5 letters (CVVCV) against fauler's 6 (CVVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses faule with fauler
A purely visual mix-up. faule ([ˈfaʊ̯lə]) and fauler ([ˈfaʊ̯lɐ]) 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 extra letter(s) - “faule” sits inside “fauler”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 49252, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
faule is recorded at frequency rank #19,209, classified as anadj, pronounced [ˈfaʊ̯lə]. fauler is at rank #30,043, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ˈfaʊ̯lɐ].
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 49252, this pair ranks #1,218,375 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of faule vs fauler
Shared letters: aeflu. Private to "faule": -. Private to "fauler": r.
"faule" · 5 letters · shape CVVCV · "fauler" · 6 letters · shape CVVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "faule" and "fauler" mean the same thing in a sentence?
In ordinary German text, does "faule" or "fauler" show up more?
After this comparison
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "faule" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "fauler" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,218,375 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "faule" and "fauler" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Färber vs fauler". 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 #1,218,375 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.