FehlernvsFeuernWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

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

#8,558
“Fehlern” frequency rank
#18,239
“Feuern” frequency rank
26797
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Fehlern Feuern
Definition Dativ Plural des Substantivs Fehler Dativ Plural des Substantivs Feuer

Where the eye mixes Fehlern and Feuern

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. Fehlern runs 7 letters (CVCCVCC) against Feuern's 6 (CVVVCC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

7 ch
Fehlern
6 ch
Feuern

Visual trap between Fehlern and Feuern

A purely visual mix-up. Fehlern ([ˈfeːlɐn]) and Feuern ([ˈfɔɪ̯ɐn]) 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 26797, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Fehlern is recorded at frequency rank #8,558, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈfeːlɐn]. Feuern is at rank #18,239, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈfɔɪ̯ɐn].

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 26797, this pair ranks #1,812,225 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of Fehlern vs Feuern

Shared letters: efnr. Private to "Fehlern": hl. Private to "Feuern": u.

"Fehlern" · 7 letters · shape CVCCVCC  ·  "Feuern" · 6 letters · shape CVVVCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Fehlern ← efhlern · fehelrn · fehhlern · fehlenr · fehlernn · fehlerrn · fehllern · fehlren
  • Feuern ← efuern · feeurn · feuenr · feuernn · feuerrn · feuren · ffeuern · fueern

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "Fehlern" and "Feuern" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ˈfeːlɐn] versus [ˈfɔɪ̯ɐn]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "Fehlern" or "Feuern"?
"Fehlern" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #8,558 in our German list, against #18,239 for "Feuern". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.

  • Full dictionary entry for "Fehlern" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Feuern" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,812,225 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Fehlern" and "Feuern" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Feuern vs Flyern". 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 #1,812,225 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list