Which to use
“fehlen” is a verb and “Ferien” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #1,415
- “fehlen” frequency rank
- #4,984
- “Ferien” frequency rank
- 6399
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | fehlen | Ferien |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | nicht vorhanden sein | schul- oder arbeits- oder semesterfreie Zeit einer staatlichen Institution, ausgenommen die Wochenenden und Feiertage |
Where the eye mixes fehlen and Ferien
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: fehlen vs Ferien
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: fehlen is [ˈfeːlən] while Ferien is [ˈfeːʁiən]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 6399, 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]. Ferien is at rank #4,984, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈfeːʁiən].
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 6399, this pair ranks #1,991,776 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of fehlen vs Ferien
Shared letters: efn. Private to "fehlen": hl. Private to "Ferien": ir.
"fehlen" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC · "Ferien" · 6 letters · shape CVCVVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "fehlen" and "Ferien" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "fehlen" or "Ferien"?
Useful next steps
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 "Ferien" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,991,776 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "fehlen" and "Ferien" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Ferien vs feurigen". 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 #1,991,776 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.