Which to use
“fem” is a num and “fis” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #43,170
- “fem” frequency rank
- #26,408
- “fis” frequency rank
- 69578
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | fem | fis |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | fünf | 1. Person Singulra Indikativ historisches Perfekt Aktiv des Verbs faire |
Where the eye mixes fem and fis
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 1 letter in sequence. fem and fis follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (CVC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.
Look-alike desk: fem vs fis
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: fem is [fɛmˀ] while fis is [fi]. 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 verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 69578, 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]. fis is at rank #26,408, tagged as averb, pronounced [fi].
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 69578, this pair ranks #472,334 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of fem vs fis
Shared letters: f. Private to "fem": em. Private to "fis": is.
"fem" · 3 letters · shape CVC · "fis" · 3 letters · shape CVC
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "fem" for "fis" ever safe?
Frequency check: "fem" vs "fis" - which ranks higher?
Useful next steps
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "fem" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "fis" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #472,334 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "fem" and "fis" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "fem vs firm". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #472,334 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.