Which to use
“feilen” is a verb and “Feinden” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #33,041
- “feilen” frequency rank
- #15,358
- “Feinden” frequency rank
- 48399
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | feilen | Feinden |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | mit einer Feile bearbeiten | Dativ Plural des Substantivs Feind |
Where the eye mixes feilen and Feinden
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. feilen runs 6 letters (CVVCVC) against Feinden's 7 (CVVCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses feilen with Feinden
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: feilen is [ˈfaɪ̯lən] while Feinden is [ˈfaɪ̯ndn̩]. 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 48399, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
feilen is recorded at frequency rank #33,041, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈfaɪ̯lən]. Feinden is at rank #15,358, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈfaɪ̯ndn̩].
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 48399, this pair ranks #1,249,941 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of feilen vs Feinden
Shared letters: efin. Private to "feilen": l. Private to "Feinden": d.
"feilen" · 6 letters · shape CVVCVC · "Feinden" · 7 letters · shape CVVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "feilen" and "Feinden" be used interchangeably?
Frequency check: "feilen" vs "Feinden" - 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 "feilen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "Feinden" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,249,941 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "feilen" and "Feinden" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "feilen vs Filet". 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 #1,249,941 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.