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 eye mixes Feuer and feuerte
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. Feuer runs 5 letters (CVVVC) against feuerte's 7 (CVVVCCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses Feuer with feuerte
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
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "Feuer" for "feuerte" ever safe?
Frequency check: "Feuer" vs "feuerte" - which ranks higher?
Useful next steps
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "Feuer" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "feuerte" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,595,125 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "Feuer" and "feuerte" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "feiere vs feuerte". 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 #1,595,125 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.