Which to use
“fehlten” is a verb and “Fohlen” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #11,647
- “fehlten” frequency rank
- #22,725
- “Fohlen” frequency rank
- 34372
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | fehlten | Fohlen |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | 1. Person Plural Indikativ Präteritum Aktiv des Verbs fehlen | Jungtier eines Pferdes |
Where the eye mixes fehlten and Fohlen
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. fehlten runs 7 letters (CVCCCVC) against Fohlen's 6 (CVCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Look-alike desk: fehlten vs Fohlen
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: fehlten is [ˈfeːltn̩] while Fohlen is [ˈfoːlən]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 34372, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
fehlten is recorded at frequency rank #11,647, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈfeːltn̩]. Fohlen is at rank #22,725, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈfoːlən].
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 34372, this pair ranks #1,664,824 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of fehlten vs Fohlen
Shared letters: efhln. Private to "fehlten": t. Private to "Fohlen": o.
"fehlten" · 7 letters · shape CVCCCVC · "Fohlen" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "fehlten" for "Fohlen" ever safe?
Frequency check: "fehlten" vs "Fohlen" - which ranks higher?
What to do next
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "fehlten" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "Fohlen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,664,824 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "fehlten" and "Fohlen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Fohlen vs Föhn". 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 #1,664,824 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.