fehlevsFeteWhat's the difference?

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

Which to use

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

#20,247
“fehle” frequency rank
#44,598
“Fete” frequency rank
64845
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature fehle Fete
Definition 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs fehlen lockere, ungezwungene Feier

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set fehle and Fete apart are highlighted. They share 3 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

5 ch
fehle
4 ch
Fete

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: fehle is [ˈfeːlə] while Fete is [ˈfeːtə]. 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 64845, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

fehle is recorded at frequency rank #20,247, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈfeːlə]. Fete is at rank #44,598, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈfeːtə].

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 64845, this pair ranks #627,256 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of fehle vs Fete

Shared letters: ef. Private to "fehle": hl. Private to "Fete": t.

"fehle" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV  ·  "Fete" · 4 letters · shape CVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • fehleefhle · fehel · fehhle · fehlle · felhe · ffehle · fhele
  • Feteefte · ffete · ftee

Frequency comparison

fehle#20,247
Fete#44,598

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "fehle" and "Fete" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "fehle" is a verb and "Fete" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "fehle" or "Fete"?
"fehle" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #20,247 in our German list, against #44,598 for "Fete". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering fehle vs Fete

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

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