feelvsfeiWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: feel is a verb, fei is a particle, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“feel” is a verb and “fei” is a particle - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#14,800
“feel” frequency rank
#21,248
“fei” frequency rank
36048
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature feel fei
Definition fühlen, spüren erzgebirgisch, fränkisch, süddeutsch, oberdeutsch, drückt aus, dass man annimmt, dass die oder der Angesprochene das Gesagte noch nicht weiß

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set feel and fei apart are highlighted. They share 2 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

4 ch
feel
3 ch
fei

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

feel and fei form a confusable pair in the German index, two distinct headwords that are easily confused because they look alike, sound alike, or both. They differ by 1 letter(s) in length - close enough that the eye skips over the difference, far enough that meaning fully diverges. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 36048, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

feel is recorded at frequency rank #14,800, classified as averb, pronounced [fiːl]. fei is at rank #21,248, tagged as aparticle, pronounced [faɪ̯].

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 36048, this pair ranks #1,625,247 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Frequency comparison

feel#14,800
fei#21,248

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "feel" and "fei" be used interchangeably?
No, "feel" and "fei" have distinct meanings and cannot be swapped without changing the meaning of a sentence. Understanding the specific definition and context for each word is essential for correct usage.

Remembering feel vs fei

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a verb, it's “feel”; for a particle, it's “fei”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “feel” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list