feinvsfitWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

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

#3,652
“fein” frequency rank
#3,655
“fit” frequency rank
7307
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature fein fit
Definition dünn, feinkörnig, zart in guter gesundheitlicher, sportlicher, physischer, psychischer Verfassung; gut vorbereitet

Where the eye mixes fein and fit

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.

4 ch
fein
3 ch
fit

Why the eye confuses fein with fit

A purely visual mix-up. fein ([faɪ̯n]) and fit ([fɪt]) 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 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 7307, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

fein is recorded at frequency rank #3,652, classified as anadj, pronounced [faɪ̯n]. fit is at rank #3,655, tagged as anadj, pronounced [fɪt].

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 7307, this pair ranks #1,988,639 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of fein vs fit

Shared letters: fi. Private to "fein": en. Private to "fit": t.

"fein" · 4 letters · shape CVVC  ·  "fit" · 3 letters · shape CVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • feinefin · feinn · feni · ffein · fien

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "fein" and "fit" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([faɪ̯n] versus [fɪt]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "fein" or "fit"?
"fein" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #3,652 in our German list, against #3,655 for "fit". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

Eye-level mix-up between "fein" and "fit" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.

  • Full dictionary entry for "fein" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "fit" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,988,639 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "fein" and "fit" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "fist vs fit". 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 #1,988,639 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