Which to use
“fehle” is a verb and “Fohlen” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #20,247
- “fehle” frequency rank
- #22,725
- “Fohlen” frequency rank
- 42972
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | fehle | Fohlen |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs fehlen | Jungtier eines Pferdes |
Where the eye mixes fehle and Fohlen
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses fehle with Fohlen
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: fehle is [ˈfeːlə] while Fohlen is [ˈfoːlən]. 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 42972, 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]. Fohlen is at rank #22,725, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈfoːlən].
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 42972, this pair ranks #1,432,616 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of fehle vs Fohlen
Shared letters: efhl. Private to "fehle": -. Private to "Fohlen": no.
"fehle" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV · "Fohlen" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "fehle" and "Fohlen" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "fehle" or "Fohlen"?
Useful next steps
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "fehle" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "Fohlen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,432,616 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "fehle" and "Fohlen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "fehle 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 #1,432,616 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.