FelsvsfilsWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#11,867
“Fels” frequency rank
#49,670
“fils” frequency rank
61537
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Fels fils
Definition zusammenhängende Masse festen Gesteins (Singular 1) männlicher Nachkomme: Sohn

Where the spellings diverge

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

4 ch
Fels
4 ch
fils

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. Fels ([fɛls]) and fils ([fis]) 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 - e in “Fels” becomes i in “fils”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 61537, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Fels is recorded at frequency rank #11,867, classified as anoun, pronounced [fɛls]. fils is at rank #49,670, tagged as anoun, pronounced [fis].

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 61537, this pair ranks #746,034 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of Fels vs fils

Shared letters: fls. Private to "Fels": e. Private to "fils": i.

"Fels" · 4 letters · shape CVCC  ·  "fils" · 4 letters · shape CVCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Felsefls · fells · felss · fesl · ffels · fles
  • filsffils · fills · filss · fisl · flis · ifls

Frequency comparison

Fels#11,867
fils#49,670

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "Fels" and "fils" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([fɛls] versus [fis]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "Fels" or "fils"?
"Fels" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #11,867 in our German list, against #49,670 for "fils". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering Fels vs fils

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Read both glosses above and match the meaning you intend, only context separates this pair.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “Fels” 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