Which to use
“fem” is a num and “fler” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #43,170
- “fem” frequency rank
- #32,036
- “fler” frequency rank
- 75206
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | fem | fler |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | fünf | mehr, eine größere Anzahl (als) |
Where the eye mixes fem and fler
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence. fem runs 3 letters (CVC) against fler's 4 (CCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Visual trap between fem and fler
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: fem is [fɛmˀ] while fler is [ˈfleːr]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (num vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 75206, 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]. fler is at rank #32,036, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ˈfleːr].
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 75206, this pair ranks #313,771 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of fem vs fler
Shared letters: ef. Private to "fem": m. Private to "fler": lr.
"fem" · 3 letters · shape CVC · "fler" · 4 letters · shape CCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- fler ← felr · ffler · flerr · fller · flre · lfer
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "fem" for "fler" ever safe?
In ordinary German text, does "fem" or "fler" show up more?
What to do next
Eye-level mix-up between "fem" and "fler" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "fem" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "fler" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #313,771 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "fem" and "fler" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "fem vs firm". 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
Confusion rank #313,771 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.