Which to use
“Ferien” and “friend” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #4,984
- “Ferien” frequency rank
- #20,584
- “friend” frequency rank
- 25568
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | Ferien | friend |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | schul- oder arbeits- oder semesterfreie Zeit einer staatlichen Institution, ausgenommen die Wochenenden und Feiertage | meist nicht zur Familie gehörende Person, die man gut kennt und die man mag, mit der man gern Umgang hat |
Where the eye mixes Ferien and friend
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. Ferien (CVCVVC) and friend (CCVVCC) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.
Why the eye confuses Ferien with friend
A purely visual mix-up. Ferien ([ˈfeːʁiən]) and friend ([fɹɛnd]) 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 5 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 25568, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
Ferien is recorded at frequency rank #4,984, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈfeːʁiən]. friend is at rank #20,584, tagged as anoun, pronounced [fɹɛnd].
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 25568, this pair ranks #1,831,296 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of Ferien vs friend
Shared letters: efinr. Private to "Ferien": -. Private to "friend": d.
"Ferien" · 6 letters · shape CVCVVC · "friend" · 6 letters · shape CCVVCC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "Ferien" and "friend" be used interchangeably?
Frequency check: "Ferien" vs "friend" - which ranks higher?
Useful next steps
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "Ferien" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "friend" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,831,296 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "Ferien" and "friend" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "friend vs friere". 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 #1,831,296 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.