Which to use
“feed” is a verb and “fever” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #14,564
- “feed” frequency rank
- #38,100
- “fever” frequency rank
- 52664
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | feed | fever |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | jemandem oder etwas Nahrung geben | Fieber |
Where the eye mixes feed and fever
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between feed and fever
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: feed is [fiːd] while fever is [ˈfiːvə]. 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 (verb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 52664, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
feed is recorded at frequency rank #14,564, classified as averb, pronounced [fiːd]. fever is at rank #38,100, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈfiːvə].
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 52664, this pair ranks #1,088,041 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of feed vs fever
Shared letters: ef. Private to "feed": d. Private to "fever": rv.
"feed" · 4 letters · shape CVVC · "fever" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "feed" for "fever" ever safe?
Frequency check: "feed" vs "fever" - which ranks higher?
Useful next steps
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "feed" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "fever" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,088,041 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "feed" and "fever" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "fever 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 #1,088,041 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.