FersevsFersenTell them apart

Which to use

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

#35,767
“Ferse” frequency rank
#19,212
“Fersen” frequency rank
54979
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Ferse Fersen
Definition hinterer Teil des Fußes Nominativ Plural des Substantivs Ferse

Where the eye mixes Ferse and Fersen

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. Ferse runs 5 letters (CVCCV) against Fersen's 6 (CVCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

5 ch
Ferse
6 ch
Fersen

Look-alike desk: Ferse vs Fersen

A purely visual mix-up. Ferse ([ˈfɛʁzə]) and Fersen ([ˈfɛʁzn̩]) 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 extra letter(s) - “Ferse” sits inside “Fersen”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 54979, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Ferse is recorded at frequency rank #35,767, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈfɛʁzə]. Fersen is at rank #19,212, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈfɛʁzn̩].

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 54979, this pair ranks #997,442 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of Ferse vs Fersen

Shared letters: efrs. Private to "Ferse": -. Private to "Fersen": n.

"Ferse" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV  ·  "Fersen" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Ferse ← efrse · feres · ferrse · fesre · fferse
  • Fersen ← efrsen · feresn · ferrsen · fersenn · fersne · fesren · ffersen

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "Ferse" and "Fersen" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([ˈfɛʁzə] versus [ˈfɛʁzn̩]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "Ferse" vs "Fersen" - which ranks higher?
"Fersen" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #19,212 in our German list, against #35,767 for "Ferse". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.

  • Full dictionary entry for "Ferse" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Fersen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #997,442 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Ferse" and "Fersen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "ferry vs Ferse". 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 #997,442 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list