feinevsFerseWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: feine is a adjective, Ferse is a noun, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

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

#5,261
“feine” frequency rank
#35,767
“Ferse” frequency rank
41028
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature feine Ferse
Definition Nominativ Singular Femininum Positiv der starken Flexion des Adjektivs fein hinterer Teil des Fußes

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set feine and Ferse apart are highlighted. They share 3 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

5 ch
feine
5 ch
Ferse

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: feine is [ˈfaɪ̯nə] while Ferse is [ˈfɛʁzə]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (adjective vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 41028, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

feine is recorded at frequency rank #5,261, classified as anadj, pronounced [ˈfaɪ̯nə]. Ferse is at rank #35,767, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈfɛʁzə].

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 41028, this pair ranks #1,491,388 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of feine vs Ferse

Shared letters: ef. Private to "feine": in. Private to "Ferse": rs.

"feine" · 5 letters · shape CVVCV  ·  "Ferse" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • feineefine · feien · feinne · fenie · ffeine · fiene
  • Ferseefrse · feres · ferrse · fesre · fferse

Frequency comparison

feine#5,261
Ferse#35,767

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "feine" and "Ferse" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "feine" is an adjective and "Ferse" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "feine" or "Ferse"?
"feine" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #5,261 in our German list, against #35,767 for "Ferse". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering feine vs Ferse

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need an adjective, it's “feine”; for a noun, it's “Ferse”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “feine” 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