Which to use
“fehlerhafte” and “fehlerhaften” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #21,596
- “fehlerhafte” frequency rank
- #30,553
- “fehlerhaften” frequency rank
- 52149
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | fehlerhafte | fehlerhaften |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Nominativ Singular Femininum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs fehlerhaft | Genitiv Singular Maskulinum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs fehlerhaft |
Where the eye mixes fehlerhafte and fehlerhaften
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 11 letters in sequence. fehlerhafte runs 11 letters (CVCCVCCVCCV) against fehlerhaften's 12 (CVCCVCCVCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses fehlerhafte with fehlerhaften
A purely visual mix-up. fehlerhafte ([ˈfeːlɐhaftə]) and fehlerhaften ([ˈfeːlɐhaftn̩]) 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 extra letter(s) - “fehlerhafte” sits inside “fehlerhaften”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 52149, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
fehlerhafte is recorded at frequency rank #21,596, classified as anadj, pronounced [ˈfeːlɐhaftə]. fehlerhaften is at rank #30,553, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ˈfeːlɐhaftn̩].
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 52149, this pair ranks #1,108,172 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of fehlerhafte vs fehlerhaften
Shared letters: aefhlrt. Private to "fehlerhafte": -. Private to "fehlerhaften": n.
"fehlerhafte" · 11 letters · shape CVCCVCCVCCV · "fehlerhaften" · 12 letters · shape CVCCVCCVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- fehlerhafte ← efhlerhafte · fehelrhafte · fehhlerhafte · fehlehrafte · fehlerahfte · fehlerhafet · fehlerhaffte · fehlerhaftte
- fehlerhaften ← efhlerhaften · fehelrhaften · fehhlerhaften · fehlehraften · fehlerahften · fehlerhafetn · fehlerhafften · fehlerhaftenn
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "fehlerhafte" for "fehlerhaften" ever safe?
In ordinary German text, does "fehlerhafte" or "fehlerhaften" show up more?
What to do next
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "fehlerhafte" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "fehlerhaften" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,108,172 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "fehlerhafte" and "fehlerhaften" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "fehlerhaften vs Fehlverhalten". 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 #1,108,172 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.