Which to use
“fehlen” is a verb and “Fetten” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #1,415
- “fehlen” frequency rank
- #8,709
- “Fetten” frequency rank
- 10124
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | fehlen | Fetten |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | nicht vorhanden sein | Dativ Plural des Substantivs Fett |
Where the eye mixes fehlen and Fetten
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: fehlen vs Fetten
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: fehlen is [ˈfeːlən] while Fetten is [ˈfɛtn̩]. 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 10124, 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]. Fetten is at rank #8,709, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈfɛtn̩].
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 10124, this pair ranks #1,976,670 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of fehlen vs Fetten
Shared letters: efn. Private to "fehlen": hl. Private to "Fetten": t.
"fehlen" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC · "Fetten" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "fehlen" for "Fetten" ever safe?
In ordinary German text, does "fehlen" or "Fetten" show up more?
Useful next steps
Eye-level mix-up between "fehlen" and "Fetten" 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 "Fetten" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,976,670 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "fehlen" and "Fetten" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Fetten vs Fritten". 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 #1,976,670 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.