fegenvsfiesenWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: fegen is a verb, fiesen is an adjective, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

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

#33,040
“fegen” frequency rank
#28,190
“fiesen” frequency rank
61230
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature fegen fiesen
Definition mit einem Besen entfernen Genitiv Singular Maskulinum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs fies

Where the spellings diverge

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

5 ch
fegen
6 ch
fiesen

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: fegen is [ˈfeːɡn̩] while fiesen is [ˈfiːzn̩]. 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 adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 61230, 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]. fiesen is at rank #28,190, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ˈfiːzn̩].

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 61230, this pair ranks #757,472 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of fegen vs fiesen

Shared letters: efn. Private to "fegen": g. Private to "fiesen": is.

"fegen" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC  ·  "fiesen" · 6 letters · shape CVVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • fegenefgen · feegn · fegenn · feggen · fegne · ffegen · fgeen
  • fiesenfeisen · ffiesen · fieesn · fiesenn · fiesne · fiessen · fiseen · ifesen

Frequency comparison

fegen#33,040
fiesen#28,190

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "fegen" and "fiesen" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "fegen" is a verb and "fiesen" an adjective, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "fegen" or "fiesen"?
"fiesen" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #28,190 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 fiesen

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a verb, it's “fegen”; for an adjective, it's “fiesen”.
  • 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