femvsfitWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: fem is a num, fit is an adjective, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

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

#43,170
“fem” frequency rank
#3,655
“fit” frequency rank
46825
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature fem fit
Definition fünf in guter gesundheitlicher, sportlicher, physischer, psychischer Verfassung; gut vorbereitet

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set fem and fit apart are highlighted. They share 1 letter in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

3 ch
fem
3 ch
fit

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: fem is [fɛmˀ] while fit is [fɪt]. 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 adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 46825, 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]. fit is at rank #3,655, tagged as anadj, pronounced [fɪt].

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 46825, this pair ranks #1,305,655 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of fem vs fit

Shared letters: f. Private to "fem": em. Private to "fit": it.

"fem" · 3 letters · shape CVC  ·  "fit" · 3 letters · shape CVC

Frequency comparison

fem#43,170
fit#3,655

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "fem" and "fit" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "fem" is a num and "fit" an adjective, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "fem" or "fit"?
"fit" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #3,655 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.

Remembering fem vs fit

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a num, it's “fem”; for an adjective, it's “fit”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “fem” 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