Which to use
“feuchten” and “fürchten” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #10,653
- “feuchten” frequency rank
- #5,172
- “fürchten” frequency rank
- 15825
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | feuchten | fürchten |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | etwas feucht machen | etwas fürchten: vor etwas Angst (Furcht) haben |
Where the eye mixes feuchten and fürchten
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. feuchten (CVVCCCVC) and fürchten (CVCCCCVC) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.
Visual trap between feuchten and fürchten
A purely visual mix-up. feuchten ([ˈfɔɪ̯çtn̩]) and fürchten ([ˈfʏʁçtn̩]) 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 15825, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
feuchten is recorded at frequency rank #10,653, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈfɔɪ̯çtn̩]. fürchten is at rank #5,172, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈfʏʁçtn̩].
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 15825, this pair ranks #1,940,850 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of feuchten vs fürchten
Shared letters: cefhnt. Private to "feuchten": u. Private to "fürchten": rü.
"feuchten" · 8 letters · shape CVVCCCVC · "fürchten" · 8 letters · shape CVCCCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- feuchten ← efuchten · fecuhten · feucchten · feuchetn · feuchhten · feuchtenn · feuchtne · feuchtten
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "feuchten" and "fürchten" be used interchangeably?
Frequency check: "feuchten" vs "fürchten" - which ranks higher?
After this comparison
Eye-level mix-up between "feuchten" and "fürchten" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "feuchten" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "fürchten" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,940,850 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "feuchten" and "fürchten" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Fechter vs feuchten". 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 #1,940,850 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.