FehdevsFehlerConfusable pair

Which to use

“Fehde” and “Fehler” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#30,552
“Fehde” frequency rank
#746
“Fehler” frequency rank
31298
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Fehde Fehler
Definition kämpferische Auseinandersetzung, um Ansprüche durchzusetzen; früher eine Streithandlung mit Waffengewalt, heute in übertragenem Sinne länger währende Auseinandersetzung mit anderen Mitteln, zum Beispiel mit dem gesprochenen Wort Abweichung von einem optimalen Zustand, Verfahren oder dem Richtigen

Where the eye mixes Fehde and Fehler

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. Fehde runs 5 letters (CVCCV) against Fehler's 6 (CVCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

5 ch
Fehde
6 ch
Fehler

Look-alike desk: Fehde vs Fehler

A purely visual mix-up. Fehde ([ˈfeːdə]) and Fehler ([ˈfeːlɐ]) 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 31298, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Fehde is recorded at frequency rank #30,552, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈfeːdə]. Fehler is at rank #746, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈfeːlɐ].

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 31298, this pair ranks #1,730,952 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of Fehde vs Fehler

Shared letters: efh. Private to "Fehde": d. Private to "Fehler": lr.

"Fehde" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV  ·  "Fehler" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Fehde ← efhde · fedhe · fehdde · fehed · fehhde · ffehde · fhede
  • Fehler ← efhler · fehelr · fehhler · fehlerr · fehller · fehlre · felher · ffehler

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "Fehde" and "Fehler" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ˈfeːdə] versus [ˈfeːlɐ]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "Fehde" or "Fehler"?
"Fehler" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #746 in our German list, against #30,552 for "Fehde". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

What to do next

Eye-level mix-up between "Fehde" and "Fehler" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.

  • Full dictionary entry for "Fehde" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Fehler" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,730,952 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Fehde" and "Fehler" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Fehde 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 #1,730,952 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list