Which to use
“Fechter” is a noun and “flechten” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #40,528
- “Fechter” frequency rank
- #24,719
- “flechten” frequency rank
- 65247
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | Fechter | flechten |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Sportler, der das Fechten ausübt | (meist) drei Stränge (zum Beispiel Haare oder Bänder) miteinander verschlingen |
Where the eye mixes Fechter and flechten
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses Fechter with flechten
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: Fechter is [ˈfɛçtɐ] while flechten is [ˈflɛçtn̩]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 65247, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
Fechter is recorded at frequency rank #40,528, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈfɛçtɐ]. flechten is at rank #24,719, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈflɛçtn̩].
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 65247, this pair ranks #613,476 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of Fechter vs flechten
Shared letters: cefht. Private to "Fechter": r. Private to "flechten": ln.
"Fechter" · 7 letters · shape CVCCCVC · "flechten" · 8 letters · shape CCVCCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "Fechter" for "flechten" ever safe?
In ordinary German text, does "Fechter" or "flechten" show up more?
What to do next
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "Fechter" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "flechten" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #613,476 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "Fechter" and "flechten" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Fechter vs frecher". 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 #613,476 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.