FeldvsfemWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: Feld is a noun, fem is a num, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“Feld” is a noun and “fem” is a num - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#1,966
“Feld” frequency rank
#43,170
“fem” frequency rank
45136
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Feld fem
Definition Acker; eine Fläche, auf der Pflanzen für eine Ernte angebaut werden fünf

Where the eye mixes Feld and fem

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

4 ch
Feld
3 ch
fem

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: Feld is [fɛlt] while fem is [fɛmˀ]. 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 (noun vs num), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 45136, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Feld is recorded at frequency rank #1,966, classified as anoun, pronounced [fɛlt]. fem is at rank #43,170, tagged as anum, pronounced [fɛmˀ].

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 45136, this pair ranks #1,363,248 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of Feld vs fem

Shared letters: ef. Private to "Feld": dl. Private to "fem": m.

"Feld" · 4 letters · shape CVCC  ·  "fem" · 3 letters · shape CVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Feldefld · fedl · feldd · felld · ffeld · fled

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "Feld" and "fem" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "Feld" is a noun and "fem" a num, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "Feld" or "fem"?
"Feld" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #1,966 in our German list, against #43,170 for "fem". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

What to do next

You've compared "Feld" and "fem". Here's where to go from here.

  • Full dictionary entry for "Feld" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "fem" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,363,248 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Feld" and "fem" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "fem vs firm". 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

PlainSpell is a reference corpus, not spelling advice. Verify unusual forms in context.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list