Which to use
“faulen” and “feilen” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #17,886
- “faulen” frequency rank
- #33,041
- “feilen” frequency rank
- 50927
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | faulen | feilen |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | von Mikroorganismen zersetzt werden; in Fäulnis übergehen | mit einer Feile bearbeiten |
Where the eye mixes faulen and feilen
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. faulen and feilen follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (CVVCVC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.
Why the eye confuses faulen with feilen
A purely visual mix-up. faulen ([ˈfaʊ̯lən]) and feilen ([ˈfaɪ̯lən]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 50927, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
faulen is recorded at frequency rank #17,886, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈfaʊ̯lən]. feilen is at rank #33,041, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈfaɪ̯lən].
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 50927, this pair ranks #1,155,081 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of faulen vs feilen
Shared letters: efln. Private to "faulen": au. Private to "feilen": i.
"faulen" · 6 letters · shape CVVCVC · "feilen" · 6 letters · shape CVVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "faulen" and "feilen" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "faulen" or "feilen"?
Useful next steps
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "faulen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "feilen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,155,081 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "faulen" and "feilen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "feilen vs Filet". 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 #1,155,081 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.