fayvsfeatWhat's the difference?

Which to use

“fay” and “feat” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#46,636
“fay” frequency rank
#10,279
“feat” frequency rank
56915
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature fay feat
Definition eine Fee bemerkenswerte oder außergewöhnliche Leistung oder Tat; Großtat

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set fay and feat apart are highlighted. They share 2 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

3 ch
fay
4 ch
feat

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. fay ([feɪ]) and feat ([fiːt]) 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 56915, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

fay is recorded at frequency rank #46,636, classified as anoun, pronounced [feɪ]. feat is at rank #10,279, tagged as anoun, pronounced [fiːt].

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 56915, this pair ranks #921,766 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of fay vs feat

Shared letters: af. Private to "fay": y. Private to "feat": et.

"fay" · 3 letters · shape CVV  ·  "feat" · 4 letters · shape CVVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • featefat · faet · featt · feta · ffeat

Frequency comparison

fay#46,636
feat#10,279

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "fay" and "feat" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([feɪ] versus [fiːt]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "fay" or "feat"?
"feat" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #10,279 in our German list, against #46,636 for "fay". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering fay vs feat

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Read both glosses above and match the meaning you intend, only context separates this pair.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “fay” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list