Which to use
“feilen” and “feinen” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #33,041
- “feilen” frequency rank
- #7,318
- “feinen” frequency rank
- 40359
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | feilen | feinen |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | mit einer Feile bearbeiten | Metall durch Entfernen von Verunreinigungen veredeln |
Where the eye mixes feilen and feinen
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. feilen and feinen follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (CVVCVC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.
Look-alike desk: feilen vs feinen
A purely visual mix-up. feilen ([ˈfaɪ̯lən]) and feinen ([ˈfaɪ̯nən]) 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 a single letter - l in “feilen” becomes n in “feinen”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 40359, 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]. feinen is at rank #7,318, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈfaɪ̯nən].
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 40359, this pair ranks #1,510,777 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of feilen vs feinen
Shared letters: efin. Private to "feilen": l. Private to "feinen": -.
"feilen" · 6 letters · shape CVVCVC · "feinen" · 6 letters · shape CVVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "feilen" and "feinen" be used interchangeably?
Frequency check: "feilen" vs "feinen" - which ranks higher?
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 "feilen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "feinen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,510,777 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "feilen" and "feinen" 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 #1,510,777 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.