feivsFeteWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: fei is a particle, Fete is a noun, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“fei” is a particle and “Fete” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#21,248
“fei” frequency rank
#44,598
“Fete” frequency rank
65846
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature fei Fete
Definition erzgebirgisch, fränkisch, süddeutsch, oberdeutsch, drückt aus, dass man annimmt, dass die oder der Angesprochene das Gesagte noch nicht weiß lockere, ungezwungene Feier

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set fei and Fete apart are highlighted. They share 2 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

3 ch
fei
4 ch
Fete

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: fei is [faɪ̯] while Fete is [ˈfeːtə]. 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 (particle vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 65846, 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]. Fete is at rank #44,598, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈfeːtə].

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 65846, this pair ranks #592,999 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of fei vs Fete

Shared letters: ef. Private to "fei": i. Private to "Fete": t.

"fei" · 3 letters · shape CVV  ·  "Fete" · 4 letters · shape CVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Feteefte · ffete · ftee

Frequency comparison

fei#21,248
Fete#44,598

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "fei" and "Fete" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "fei" is a particle and "Fete" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "fei" or "Fete"?
"fei" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #21,248 in our German list, against #44,598 for "Fete". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering fei vs Fete

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a particle, it's “fei”; for a noun, it's “Fete”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “fei” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list