Which to use
“faulen” and “fielen” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #17,886
- “faulen” frequency rank
- #5,081
- “fielen” frequency rank
- 22967
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | faulen | fielen |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | von Mikroorganismen zersetzt werden; in Fäulnis übergehen | 1. Person Plural Indikativ Präteritum Aktiv des Verbs fallen |
Where the eye mixes faulen and fielen
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses faulen with fielen
A purely visual mix-up. faulen ([ˈfaʊ̯lən]) and fielen ([ˈfiːlən]) 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 22967, 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]. fielen is at rank #5,081, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈfiːlən].
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 22967, this pair ranks #1,867,422 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of faulen vs fielen
Shared letters: efln. Private to "faulen": au. Private to "fielen": i.
"faulen" · 6 letters · shape CVVCVC · "fielen" · 6 letters · shape CVVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "faulen" and "fielen" be used interchangeably?
In ordinary German text, does "faulen" or "fielen" show up more?
Useful next steps
Eye-level mix-up between "faulen" and "fielen" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "faulen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "fielen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,867,422 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "faulen" and "fielen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Falun vs faulen". 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 #1,867,422 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.