Which to use
“faule” is an adjective and “Fäuste” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #19,209
- “faule” frequency rank
- #26,421
- “Fäuste” frequency rank
- 45630
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | faule | Fäuste |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Nominativ Singular Femininum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs faul | Nominativ Plural des Substantivs Faust |
Where the eye mixes faule and Fäuste
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence. faule runs 5 letters (CVVCV) against Fäuste's 6 (CVVCCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses faule with Fäuste
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: faule is [ˈfaʊ̯lə] while Fäuste is [ˈfɔɪ̯stə]. 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 (adjective vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 45630, 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]. Fäuste is at rank #26,421, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈfɔɪ̯stə].
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 45630, this pair ranks #1,346,498 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of faule vs Fäuste
Shared letters: efu. Private to "faule": al. Private to "Fäuste": stä.
"faule" · 5 letters · shape CVVCV · "Fäuste" · 6 letters · shape CVVCCV
Known mistypes of this pair
- faule ← afule · falue · fauel · faulle · ffaule · fuale
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "faule" and "Fäuste" be used interchangeably?
Frequency check: "faule" vs "Fäuste" - which ranks higher?
What to do next
Eye-level mix-up between "faule" and "Fäuste" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "faule" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "Fäuste" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,346,498 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "faule" and "Fäuste" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Fäuste vs Flaute". 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 #1,346,498 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.