FeigenvsFerienConfusable pair

Which to use

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

#23,121
“Feigen” frequency rank
#4,984
“Ferien” frequency rank
28105
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Feigen Ferien
Definition Nominativ Plural des Substantivs Feige schul- oder arbeits- oder semesterfreie Zeit einer staatlichen Institution, ausgenommen die Wochenenden und Feiertage

Where the eye mixes Feigen and Ferien

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence.

6 ch
Feigen
6 ch
Ferien

Visual trap between Feigen and Ferien

A purely visual mix-up. Feigen ([ˈfaɪ̯ɡn̩]) and Ferien ([ˈfeːʁiən]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 28105, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Feigen is recorded at frequency rank #23,121, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈfaɪ̯ɡn̩]. Ferien is at rank #4,984, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈfeːʁiən].

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 28105, this pair ranks #1,790,473 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of Feigen vs Ferien

Shared letters: efin. Private to "Feigen": g. Private to "Ferien": r.

"Feigen" · 6 letters · shape CVVCVC  ·  "Ferien" · 6 letters · shape CVCVVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Feigenefigen · fegien · feiegn · feigenn · feiggen · feigne · ffeigen · fiegen
  • Ferienefrien · ferein · ferienn · ferine · ferrien · fferien

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "Feigen" for "Ferien" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([ˈfaɪ̯ɡn̩] versus [ˈfeːʁiən]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
In ordinary German text, does "Feigen" or "Ferien" show up more?
"Ferien" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #4,984 in our German list, against #23,121 for "Feigen". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.

  • Full dictionary entry for "Feigen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Ferien" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,790,473 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Feigen" and "Ferien" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Feigen vs Felge". 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 #1,790,473 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