FelsenvsFettenWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#6,424
“Felsen” frequency rank
#8,709
“Fetten” frequency rank
15133
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Felsen Fetten
Definition größere in die Höhe ragende Masse fest zusammenhängenden harten Gesteins Dativ Plural des Substantivs Fett

Where the eye mixes Felsen and Fetten

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.

6 ch
Felsen
6 ch
Fetten

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. Felsen ([ˈfɛlzn̩]) and Fetten ([ˈfɛtn̩]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 15133, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Felsen is recorded at frequency rank #6,424, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈfɛlzn̩]. Fetten is at rank #8,709, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈfɛtn̩].

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 15133, this pair ranks #1,946,136 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of Felsen vs Fetten

Shared letters: efn. Private to "Felsen": ls. Private to "Fetten": t.

"Felsen" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC  ·  "Fetten" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Felseneflsen · felesn · fellsen · felsenn · felsne · felssen · feslen · ffelsen
  • Fetteneftten · feten · fetetn · fettenn · fettne · ffetten · fteten

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "Felsen" and "Fetten" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ˈfɛlzn̩] versus [ˈfɛtn̩]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "Felsen" or "Fetten"?
"Felsen" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #6,424 in our German list, against #8,709 for "Fetten". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

You've compared "Felsen" and "Fetten". Here's where to go from here.

  • Full dictionary entry for "Felsen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Fetten" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,946,136 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Felsen" and "Fetten" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Felge vs Felsen". 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