Which to use
“fem” is a num and “fil” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #43,170
- “fem” frequency rank
- #43,176
- “fil” frequency rank
- 86346
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | fem | fil |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | fünf | mächtiges Säugetier mit Rüssel und Stoßzähnen; Elefant |
Where the eye mixes fem and fil
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 1 letter in sequence. fem and fil follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (CVC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.
Visual trap between fem and fil
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: fem is [fɛmˀ] while fil is [fiɫ]. 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 (num vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 86346, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
fem is recorded at frequency rank #43,170, classified as anum, pronounced [fɛmˀ]. fil is at rank #43,176, tagged as anoun, pronounced [fiɫ].
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 86346, this pair ranks #95,058 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of fem vs fil
Shared letters: f. Private to "fem": em. Private to "fil": il.
"fem" · 3 letters · shape CVC · "fil" · 3 letters · shape CVC
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "fem" and "fil" be used interchangeably?
Frequency check: "fem" vs "fil" - which ranks higher?
What to do next
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "fem" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "fil" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #95,058 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "fem" and "fil" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "fil vs fist". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #95,058 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.