Which to use
“fegen” and “fehlen” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #33,040
- “fegen” frequency rank
- #1,415
- “fehlen” frequency rank
- 34455
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | fegen | fehlen |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | mit einem Besen entfernen | nicht vorhanden sein |
Where the eye mixes fegen and fehlen
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. fegen runs 5 letters (CVCVC) against fehlen's 6 (CVCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Visual trap between fegen and fehlen
A purely visual mix-up. fegen ([ˈfeːɡn̩]) and fehlen ([ˈfeːlən]) 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 34455, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
fegen is recorded at frequency rank #33,040, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈfeːɡn̩]. fehlen is at rank #1,415, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈfeːlən].
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 34455, this pair ranks #1,662,971 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of fegen vs fehlen
Shared letters: efn. Private to "fegen": g. Private to "fehlen": hl.
"fegen" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC · "fehlen" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "fegen" and "fehlen" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Which is more common, "fegen" or "fehlen"?
Useful next steps
Eye-level mix-up between "fegen" and "fehlen" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "fegen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "fehlen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,662,971 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "fegen" and "fehlen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "fegen vs Felge". 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 #1,662,971 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.