fechtenvsfeuchtenWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

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

#29,573
“fechten” frequency rank
#10,653
“feuchten” frequency rank
40226
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature fechten feuchten
Definition mit Klingen (Schwertern, Degen, Säbeln und so weiter) kämpfen etwas feucht machen

Where the eye mixes fechten and feuchten

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence.

7 ch
fechten
8 ch
feuchten

Look-alike desk: fechten vs feuchten

A purely visual mix-up. fechten ([ˈfɛçtn̩]) and feuchten ([ˈfɔɪ̯çtn̩]) 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 40226, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

fechten is recorded at frequency rank #29,573, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈfɛçtn̩]. feuchten is at rank #10,653, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈfɔɪ̯çtn̩].

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 40226, this pair ranks #1,514,563 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of fechten vs feuchten

Shared letters: cefhnt. Private to "fechten": -. Private to "feuchten": u.

"fechten" · 7 letters · shape CVCCCVC  ·  "feuchten" · 8 letters · shape CVVCCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • fechtenefchten · fcehten · fecchten · fechetn · fechhten · fechtenn · fechtne · fechtten
  • feuchtenefuchten · fecuhten · feucchten · feuchetn · feuchhten · feuchtenn · feuchtne · feuchtten

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "fechten" for "feuchten" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([ˈfɛçtn̩] versus [ˈfɔɪ̯çtn̩]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "fechten" vs "feuchten" - which ranks higher?
"feuchten" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #10,653 in our German list, against #29,573 for "fechten". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

Eye-level mix-up between "fechten" and "feuchten" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.

  • Full dictionary entry for "fechten" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "feuchten" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,514,563 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "fechten" and "feuchten" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "fechten vs Fechter". 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 #1,514,563 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list