fegenvsFeuernWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: fegen is a verb, Feuern is a noun, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“fegen” is a verb and “Feuern” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#33,040
“fegen” frequency rank
#18,239
“Feuern” frequency rank
51279
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature fegen Feuern
Definition mit einem Besen entfernen Dativ Plural des Substantivs Feuer

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set fegen and Feuern apart are highlighted. They share 4 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

5 ch
fegen
6 ch
Feuern

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: fegen is [ˈfeːɡn̩] while Feuern is [ˈfɔɪ̯ɐn]. 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 51279, 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]. Feuern is at rank #18,239, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈfɔɪ̯ɐn].

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 51279, this pair ranks #1,141,548 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of fegen vs Feuern

Shared letters: efn. Private to "fegen": g. Private to "Feuern": ru.

"fegen" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC  ·  "Feuern" · 6 letters · shape CVVVCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • fegenefgen · feegn · fegenn · feggen · fegne · ffegen · fgeen
  • Feuernefuern · feeurn · feuenr · feuernn · feuerrn · feuren · ffeuern · fueern

Frequency comparison

fegen#33,040
Feuern#18,239

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "fegen" and "Feuern" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "fegen" is a verb and "Feuern" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "fegen" or "Feuern"?
"Feuern" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #18,239 in our German list, against #33,040 for "fegen". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering fegen vs Feuern

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a verb, it's “fegen”; for a noun, it's “Feuern”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “fegen” 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