Which to use
“fegen” and “feilen” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #33,040
- “fegen” frequency rank
- #33,041
- “feilen” frequency rank
- 66081
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | fegen | feilen |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | mit einem Besen entfernen | mit einer Feile bearbeiten |
Where the eye mixes fegen and feilen
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. fegen runs 5 letters (CVCVC) against feilen's 6 (CVVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Visual trap between fegen and feilen
A purely visual mix-up. fegen ([ˈfeːɡn̩]) and feilen ([ˈfaɪ̯lən]) 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 66081, 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]. feilen is at rank #33,041, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈfaɪ̯lən].
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 66081, this pair ranks #585,234 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of fegen vs feilen
Shared letters: efn. Private to "fegen": g. Private to "feilen": il.
"fegen" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC · "feilen" · 6 letters · shape CVVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "fegen" and "feilen" be used interchangeably?
In ordinary German text, does "fegen" or "feilen" show up more?
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 "fegen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "feilen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #585,234 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "fegen" and "feilen" 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 #585,234 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.