FettenvsFutterConfusable pair

Which to use

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

#8,709
“Fetten” frequency rank
#7,175
“Futter” frequency rank
15884
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Fetten Futter
Definition Dativ Plural des Substantivs Fett Nahrung der Tiere

Where the eye mixes Fetten and Futter

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.

6 ch
Fetten
6 ch
Futter

Visual trap between Fetten and Futter

A purely visual mix-up. Fetten ([ˈfɛtn̩]) and Futter ([ˈfʊtɐ]) 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 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 15884, 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]. Futter is at rank #7,175, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈfʊtɐ].

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 15884, this pair ranks #1,940,349 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of Fetten vs Futter

Shared letters: eft. Private to "Fetten": n. Private to "Futter": ru.

"Fetten" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC  ·  "Futter" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Fetteneftten · feten · fetetn · fettenn · fettne · ffetten · fteten
  • Futterffutter · ftuter · futer · futetr · futterr · futtre · uftter

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "Fetten" for "Futter" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([ˈfɛtn̩] versus [ˈfʊtɐ]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "Fetten" or "Futter"?
"Futter" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #7,175 in our German list, against #8,709 for "Fetten". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

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 "Fetten" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Futter" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,940,349 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Fetten" and "Futter" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Fetten vs Fritten". 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 #1,940,349 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