FettenvsfettigConfusable pair

Quick tell: Fetten is a noun, fettig is an adjective, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“Fetten” is a noun and “fettig” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#8,709
“Fetten” frequency rank
#43,174
“fettig” frequency rank
51883
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Fetten fettig
Definition Dativ Plural des Substantivs Fett mit Fett beschmiert, getränkt oder beschichtet

Where the eye mixes Fetten and fettig

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. Fetten and fettig follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (CVCCVC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.

6 ch
Fetten
6 ch
fettig

Why the eye confuses Fetten with fettig

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: Fetten is [ˈfɛtn̩] while fettig is [ˈfɛtɪç]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 51883, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Fetten is recorded at frequency rank #8,709, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈfɛtn̩]. fettig is at rank #43,174, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ˈfɛtɪç].

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 51883, this pair ranks #1,118,351 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of Fetten vs fettig

Shared letters: eft. Private to "Fetten": n. Private to "fettig": gi.

"Fetten" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC  ·  "fettig" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Fetten ← eftten · feten · fetetn · fettenn · fettne · ffetten · fteten
  • fettig ← efttig · fetig · fetitg · fettgi · fettigg · ffettig · ftetig

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "Fetten" and "fettig" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "Fetten" is a noun and "fettig" an adjective, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "Fetten" or "fettig"?
"Fetten" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #8,709 in our German list, against #43,174 for "fettig". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

Eye-level mix-up between "Fetten" and "fettig" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.

  • Full dictionary entry for "Fetten" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "fettig" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,118,351 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Fetten" and "fettig" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "fettig vs fettige". 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 #1,118,351 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