FernsehensvsFernseherWhat's the difference?

Which to use

“Fernsehens” and “Fernseher” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#25,545
“Fernsehens” frequency rank
#3,653
“Fernseher” frequency rank
29198
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Fernsehens Fernseher
Definition Genitiv Singular des Substantivs Fernsehen Gerät zum Empfang und zur Wiedergabe von Fernsehsignalen; Gerät, mit dem ferngesehen wird

Where the eye mixes Fernsehens and Fernseher

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 8 letters in sequence.

10 ch
Fernsehens
9 ch
Fernseher

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. Fernsehens ([ˈfɛʁnˌzeːəns]) and Fernseher ([ˈfɛʁnˌzeːɐ]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 29198, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Fernsehens is recorded at frequency rank #25,545, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈfɛʁnˌzeːəns]. Fernseher is at rank #3,653, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈfɛʁnˌzeːɐ].

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 29198, this pair ranks #1,771,243 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of Fernsehens vs Fernseher

Shared letters: efhnrs. Private to "Fernsehens": -. Private to "Fernseher": -.

"Fernsehens" · 10 letters · shape CVCCCVCVCC  ·  "Fernseher" · 9 letters · shape CVCCCVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Fernsehensefrnsehens · fenrsehens · ferneshens · fernnsehens · fernseehns · fernsehenns · fernsehenss · fernsehesn
  • Fernseherefrnseher · fenrseher · fernesher · fernnseher · fernseehr · fernseherr · fernsehher · fernsehre

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "Fernsehens" and "Fernseher" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ˈfɛʁnˌzeːəns] versus [ˈfɛʁnˌzeːɐ]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "Fernsehens" or "Fernseher"?
"Fernseher" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #3,653 in our German list, against #25,545 for "Fernsehens". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list