FehlervsFelleWhat's the difference?

Which to use

“Fehler” and “Felle” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#746
“Fehler” frequency rank
#31,039
“Felle” frequency rank
31785
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Fehler Felle
Definition Abweichung von einem optimalen Zustand, Verfahren oder dem Richtigen Variante für den Dativ Singular des Substantivs Fell

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set Fehler and Felle apart are highlighted. They share 4 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

6 ch
Fehler
5 ch
Felle

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. Fehler ([ˈfeːlɐ]) and Felle ([ˈfɛlə]) 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 31785, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Fehler is recorded at frequency rank #746, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈfeːlɐ]. Felle is at rank #31,039, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈfɛlə].

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 31785, this pair ranks #1,721,113 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of Fehler vs Felle

Shared letters: efl. Private to "Fehler": hr. Private to "Felle": -.

"Fehler" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC  ·  "Felle" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Fehlerefhler · fehelr · fehhler · fehlerr · fehller · fehlre · felher · ffehler
  • Felleeflle · felel · ffelle · flele

Frequency comparison

Fehler#746
Felle#31,039

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "Fehler" and "Felle" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ˈfeːlɐ] versus [ˈfɛlə]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "Fehler" or "Felle"?
"Fehler" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #746 in our German list, against #31,039 for "Felle". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

Remembering Fehler vs Felle

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Read both glosses above and match the meaning you intend, only context separates this pair.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “Fehler” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list