FeuervsfeuerteWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: Feuer is a noun, feuerte is a verb, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“Feuer” is a noun and “feuerte” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#1,477
“Feuer” frequency rank
#35,769
“feuerte” frequency rank
37246
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Feuer feuerte
Definition Flammenbildung bei der Verbrennung unter Abgabe von Wärme und Licht 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präteritum Aktiv des Verbs feuern

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set Feuer and feuerte apart are highlighted. They share 5 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

5 ch
Feuer
7 ch
feuerte

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: Feuer is [ˈfɔɪ̯ɐ] while feuerte is [ˈfɔɪ̯ɐtə]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 2 extra letter(s) - “Feuer” sits inside “feuerte”, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 37246, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Feuer is recorded at frequency rank #1,477, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈfɔɪ̯ɐ]. feuerte is at rank #35,769, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈfɔɪ̯ɐtə].

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 37246, this pair ranks #1,595,125 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of Feuer vs feuerte

Shared letters: efru. Private to "Feuer": -. Private to "feuerte": t.

"Feuer" · 5 letters · shape CVVVC  ·  "feuerte" · 7 letters · shape CVVVCCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Feuerefuer · feeur · feuerr · feure · ffeuer · fueer
  • feuerteefuerte · feeurte · feueret · feuerrte · feuertte · feuetre · feurete · ffeuerte

Frequency comparison

Feuer#1,477
feuerte#35,769

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "Feuer" and "feuerte" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "Feuer" is a noun and "feuerte" a verb, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "Feuer" or "feuerte"?
"Feuer" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #1,477 in our German list, against #35,769 for "feuerte". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

Remembering Feuer vs feuerte

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a noun, it's “Feuer”; for a verb, it's “feuerte”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “Feuer” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list