Which to use
“feststellen” and “festzustellen” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #3,730
- “feststellen” frequency rank
- #8,559
- “festzustellen” frequency rank
- 12289
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | feststellen | festzustellen |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | einen Sachverhalt ermitteln über den Status Auskunft geben | erweiterter Infinitiv Aktiv des Verbs feststellen |
Where the eye mixes feststellen and festzustellen
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 11 letters in sequence. feststellen runs 11 letters (CVCCCCVCCVC) against festzustellen's 13 (CVCCCVCCVCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Visual trap between feststellen and festzustellen
A purely visual mix-up. feststellen ([ˈfɛstˌʃtɛlən]) and festzustellen ([ˈfɛstt͡suˌʃtɛlən]) 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 2 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 12289, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
feststellen is recorded at frequency rank #3,730, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈfɛstˌʃtɛlən]. festzustellen is at rank #8,559, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈfɛstt͡suˌʃtɛlən].
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 12289, this pair ranks #1,965,074 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of feststellen vs festzustellen
Shared letters: eflnst. Private to "feststellen": -. Private to "festzustellen": uz.
"feststellen" · 11 letters · shape CVCCCCVCCVC · "festzustellen" · 13 letters · shape CVCCCVCCVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- feststellen ← efststellen · fesststellen · fessttellen · festsetllen · festsstellen · feststeleln · feststelen · feststellenn
- festzustellen ← efstzustellen · fesstzustellen · festtzustellen · festuzstellen · festzsutellen · festzusetllen · festzusstellen · festzusteleln
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "feststellen" and "festzustellen" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Frequency check: "feststellen" vs "festzustellen" - which ranks higher?
What to do next
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "feststellen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "festzustellen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,965,074 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "feststellen" and "festzustellen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "feststehen vs feststellen". 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 #1,965,074 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.