FedervsFeuerConfusable pair

Which to use

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

#8,362
“Feder” frequency rank
#1,477
“Feuer” frequency rank
9839
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Feder Feuer
Definition aus der Haut von Vögeln wachsendes, aus Keratin bestehendes Gebilde mit einer Art hornigem Stiel (dem sogenannten »Kiel«), von dem aus sich feine rippen- oder fadenartige Verästelungen (die sogenannte »Fahne«) abzweigen, und die Gesamtheit dieser Gebilde das Gefieder bildet Flammenbildung bei der Verbrennung unter Abgabe von Wärme und Licht

Where the eye mixes Feder and Feuer

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.

5 ch
Feder
5 ch
Feuer

Why the eye confuses Feder with Feuer

A purely visual mix-up. Feder ([ˈfeːdɐ]) and Feuer ([ˈfɔɪ̯ɐ]) 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 a single letter - d in “Feder” becomes u in “Feuer”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 9839, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Feder is recorded at frequency rank #8,362, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈfeːdɐ]. Feuer is at rank #1,477, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈfɔɪ̯ɐ].

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 9839, this pair ranks #1,978,045 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of Feder vs Feuer

Shared letters: efr. Private to "Feder": d. Private to "Feuer": u.

"Feder" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC  ·  "Feuer" · 5 letters · shape CVVVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Federefder · fdeer · fedder · federr · fedre · feedr · ffeder
  • Feuerefuer · feeur · feuerr · feure · ffeuer · fueer

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "Feder" and "Feuer" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([ˈfeːdɐ] versus [ˈfɔɪ̯ɐ]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "Feder" or "Feuer"?
"Feuer" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #1,477 in our German list, against #8,362 for "Feder". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.

  • Full dictionary entry for "Feder" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Feuer" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,978,045 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Feder" and "Feuer" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Feder vs fixer". 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 #1,978,045 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