Which to use
“Fehler” and “fever” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #746
- “Fehler” frequency rank
- #38,100
- “fever” frequency rank
- 38846
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | Fehler | fever |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Abweichung von einem optimalen Zustand, Verfahren oder dem Richtigen | Fieber |
Where the eye mixes Fehler and fever
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. Fehler runs 6 letters (CVCCVC) against fever's 5 (CVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Look-alike desk: Fehler vs fever
A purely visual mix-up. Fehler ([ˈfeːlɐ]) and fever ([ˈfiːvə]) 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 38846, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
Fehler is recorded at frequency rank #746, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈfeːlɐ]. fever is at rank #38,100, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈfiːvə].
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 38846, this pair ranks #1,553,084 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of Fehler vs fever
Shared letters: efr. Private to "Fehler": hl. Private to "fever": v.
"Fehler" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC · "fever" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "Fehler" for "fever" ever safe?
Frequency check: "Fehler" vs "fever" - which ranks higher?
Useful next steps
Eye-level mix-up between "Fehler" and "fever" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "Fehler" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "fever" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,553,084 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "Fehler" and "fever" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "fever vs fixer". 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 #1,553,084 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.