Which to use
“fechten” and “fürchten” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #29,573
- “fechten” frequency rank
- #5,172
- “fürchten” frequency rank
- 34745
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | fechten | fürchten |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | mit Klingen (Schwertern, Degen, Säbeln und so weiter) kämpfen | etwas fürchten: vor etwas Angst (Furcht) haben |
Where the eye mixes fechten and fürchten
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. fechten runs 7 letters (CVCCCVC) against fürchten's 8 (CVCCCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses fechten with fürchten
A purely visual mix-up. fechten ([ˈfɛçtn̩]) and fürchten ([ˈfʏʁçtn̩]) 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 34745, 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]. fürchten is at rank #5,172, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈfʏʁçtn̩].
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 34745, this pair ranks #1,656,318 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of fechten vs fürchten
Shared letters: cefhnt. Private to "fechten": -. Private to "fürchten": rü.
"fechten" · 7 letters · shape CVCCCVC · "fürchten" · 8 letters · shape CVCCCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- fechten ← efchten · fcehten · fecchten · fechetn · fechhten · fechtenn · fechtne · fechtten
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "fechten" and "fürchten" be used interchangeably?
In ordinary German text, does "fechten" or "fürchten" show up more?
What to do next
Eye-level mix-up between "fechten" and "fürchten" 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 "fürchten" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,656,318 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "fechten" and "fürchten" 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 #1,656,318 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.