Which to use
“fehlen” and “fehlten” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #1,415
- “fehlen” frequency rank
- #11,647
- “fehlten” frequency rank
- 13062
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | fehlen | fehlten |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | nicht vorhanden sein | 1. Person Plural Indikativ Präteritum Aktiv des Verbs fehlen |
Where the eye mixes fehlen and fehlten
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. fehlen runs 6 letters (CVCCVC) against fehlten's 7 (CVCCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Look-alike desk: fehlen vs fehlten
A purely visual mix-up. fehlen ([ˈfeːlən]) and fehlten ([ˈfeːltn̩]) 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 13062, 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]. fehlten is at rank #11,647, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈfeːltn̩].
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 13062, this pair ranks #1,960,358 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of fehlen vs fehlten
Shared letters: efhln. Private to "fehlen": -. Private to "fehlten": t.
"fehlen" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC · "fehlten" · 7 letters · shape CVCCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "fehlen" and "fehlten" mean the same thing in a sentence?
In ordinary German text, does "fehlen" or "fehlten" show up more?
What to do next
Eye-level mix-up between "fehlen" and "fehlten" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "fehlen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "fehlten" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,960,358 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "fehlen" and "fehlten" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "fehlten vs feilen". 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 #1,960,358 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.