Which to use
“fehlen” and “feilen” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #1,415
- “fehlen” frequency rank
- #33,041
- “feilen” frequency rank
- 34456
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | fehlen | feilen |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | nicht vorhanden sein | mit einer Feile bearbeiten |
Where the eye mixes fehlen and feilen
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. fehlen (CVCCVC) and feilen (CVVCVC) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.
Why the eye confuses fehlen with feilen
A purely visual mix-up. fehlen ([ˈfeːlən]) and feilen ([ˈfaɪ̯lən]) 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 a single letter - h in “fehlen” becomes i in “feilen”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 34456, 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]. feilen is at rank #33,041, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈfaɪ̯lən].
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 34456, this pair ranks #1,662,945 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of fehlen vs feilen
Shared letters: efln. Private to "fehlen": h. Private to "feilen": i.
"fehlen" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC · "feilen" · 6 letters · shape CVVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "fehlen" for "feilen" ever safe?
Frequency check: "fehlen" vs "feilen" - which ranks higher?
Useful next steps
Eye-level mix-up between "fehlen" and "feilen" 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 "feilen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,662,945 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "fehlen" and "feilen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "feilen vs Filet". 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 #1,662,945 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.