FeindvsfeinerWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: Feind is a noun, feiner is an adjective, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“Feind” is a noun and “feiner” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#3,579
“Feind” frequency rank
#11,426
“feiner” frequency rank
15005
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Feind feiner
Definition Person oder Gruppe mit besonders negativer Beziehung zu einer anderen Nominativ Singular Maskulinum Positiv der starken Flexion des Adjektivs fein

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set Feind and feiner apart are highlighted. They share 4 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

5 ch
Feind
6 ch
feiner

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

Feind and feiner form a confusable pair in the German index, two distinct headwords that are easily confused because they look alike, sound alike, or both. They differ by 1 letter(s) in length - close enough that the eye skips over the difference, far enough that meaning fully diverges. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 15005, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Feind is recorded at frequency rank #3,579, classified as anoun, pronounced [faɪ̯nt]. feiner is at rank #11,426, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ˈfaɪ̯nɐ].

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 15005, this pair ranks #1,947,140 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Frequency comparison

Feind#3,579
feiner#11,426

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "Feind" and "feiner" be used interchangeably?
No, "Feind" and "feiner" have distinct meanings and cannot be swapped without changing the meaning of a sentence. Understanding the specific definition and context for each word is essential for correct usage.

Remembering Feind vs feiner

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a noun, it's “Feind”; for an adjective, it's “feiner”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “Feind” 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 FrequencyWords open word-frequency list