Which to use
“fehlten” and “fühlen” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #11,647
- “fehlten” frequency rank
- #1,290
- “fühlen” frequency rank
- 12937
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | fehlten | fühlen |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | 1. Person Plural Indikativ Präteritum Aktiv des Verbs fehlen | per Tastsinn beziehungsweise allgemein über die Haut wahrnehmen oder erkunden |
Where the eye mixes fehlten and fühlen
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. fehlten runs 7 letters (CVCCCVC) against fühlen's 6 (CVCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses fehlten with fühlen
A purely visual mix-up. fehlten ([ˈfeːltn̩]) and fühlen ([ˈfyːlən]) 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 12937, 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]. fühlen is at rank #1,290, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈfyːlən].
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 12937, this pair ranks #1,961,120 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of fehlten vs fühlen
Shared letters: efhln. Private to "fehlten": t. Private to "fühlen": ü.
"fehlten" · 7 letters · shape CVCCCVC · "fühlen" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- fehlten ← efhlten · fehhlten · fehletn · fehllten · fehltenn · fehltne · fehltten · fehtlen
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "fehlten" and "fühlen" be used interchangeably?
In ordinary German text, does "fehlten" or "fühlen" show up more?
After this comparison
Eye-level mix-up between "fehlten" and "fühlen" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "fehlten" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "fühlen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,961,120 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "fehlten" and "fühlen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "fügten vs fühlen". 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 #1,961,120 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.