Which to use
“fehlen” and “fehlt” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #1,415
- “fehlen” frequency rank
- #950
- “fehlt” frequency rank
- 2365
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | fehlen | fehlt |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | nicht vorhanden sein | Imperativ Plural (ihr) des Verbs fehlen |
Where the eye mixes fehlen and fehlt
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses fehlen with fehlt
A purely visual mix-up. fehlen ([ˈfeːlən]) and fehlt ([feːlt]) 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 2365, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
fehlen is recorded at frequency rank #1,415, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈfeːlən]. fehlt is at rank #950, tagged as averb, pronounced [feːlt].
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 2365, this pair ranks #2,002,534 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of fehlen vs fehlt
Shared letters: efhl. Private to "fehlen": n. Private to "fehlt": t.
"fehlen" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC · "fehlt" · 5 letters · shape CVCCC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "fehlen" and "fehlt" mean the same thing in a sentence?
In ordinary German text, does "fehlen" or "fehlt" show up more?
After this comparison
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "fehlen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "fehlt" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #2,002,534 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "fehlen" and "fehlt" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "feels vs fehlt". 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 #2,002,534 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.