Which to use
“fei” is a particle and “Feind” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #21,248
- “fei” frequency rank
- #3,579
- “Feind” frequency rank
- 24827
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | fei | Feind |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | erzgebirgisch, fränkisch, süddeutsch, oberdeutsch, drückt aus, dass man annimmt, dass die oder der Angesprochene das Gesagte noch nicht weiß | Person oder Gruppe mit besonders negativer Beziehung zu einer anderen |
Where the eye mixes fei and Feind
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: fei vs Feind
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: fei is [faɪ̯] while Feind is [faɪ̯nt]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 2 extra letter(s) - “fei” sits inside “Feind”, and the parts of speech differ too (particle vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 24827, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
fei is recorded at frequency rank #21,248, classified as aparticle, pronounced [faɪ̯]. Feind is at rank #3,579, tagged as anoun, pronounced [faɪ̯nt].
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 24827, this pair ranks #1,842,130 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of fei vs Feind
Shared letters: efi. Private to "fei": -. Private to "Feind": dn.
"fei" · 3 letters · shape CVV · "Feind" · 5 letters · shape CVVCC
Known mistypes of this pair
- Feind ← efind · feidn · feindd · feinnd · fenid · ffeind · fiend
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "fei" and "Feind" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Which is more common, "fei" or "Feind"?
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 "fei" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "Feind" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,842,130 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "fei" and "Feind" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "fay vs fei". 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 #1,842,130 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.