Which to use
“fegen” and “feinen” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #33,040
- “fegen” frequency rank
- #7,318
- “feinen” frequency rank
- 40358
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | fegen | feinen |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | mit einem Besen entfernen | Metall durch Entfernen von Verunreinigungen veredeln |
Where the eye mixes fegen and feinen
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. fegen runs 5 letters (CVCVC) against feinen's 6 (CVVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Visual trap between fegen and feinen
A purely visual mix-up. fegen ([ˈfeːɡn̩]) and feinen ([ˈfaɪ̯nən]) 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 40358, 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]. feinen is at rank #7,318, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈfaɪ̯nən].
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 40358, this pair ranks #1,510,806 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of fegen vs feinen
Shared letters: efn. Private to "fegen": g. Private to "feinen": i.
"fegen" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC · "feinen" · 6 letters · shape CVVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "fegen" and "feinen" mean the same thing in a sentence?
In ordinary German text, does "fegen" or "feinen" 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 "feinen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,510,806 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "fegen" and "feinen" 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 #1,510,806 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.