fey vs fies, What's the Difference?

Which to use

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

#43,868
“fey” frequency rank: #17,292
“fies” frequency rank: 61160
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature	fey	fies
Definition	(aus dem schottischen) todgeweiht	Ekel erregend unangenehm

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set fey and fies apart are highlighted. They share 2 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

3 ch

fey

4 ch

fies

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

fey and fies are indexed as a confusable German pair. We have no recorded pronunciation or part of speech for both members, so the spelling overlap is what we can show you: they differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 61160, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

fey is recorded at frequency rank #43,868, classified as anadj, pronounced […]. fies is at rank #17,292, tagged as anadj, pronounced [fiːs].

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 61160, this pair ranks #760,121 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of fey vs fies

Shared letters: ef. Private to "fey": y. Private to "fies": is.

"fey" · 3 letters · shape CVV · "fies" · 4 letters · shape CVVC

Known mistypes of this pair

fies ← feis · ffies · fiess · fise · ifes

Frequency comparison

fey#43,868

fies#17,292

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "fey" and "fies" be used interchangeably?

No. They differ by 1 letter(s) in length, but the dictionary glosses above give them different meanings, so swapping one for the other changes what the sentence says.

Which is more common, "fey" or "fies"?

"fies" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #17,292 in our German list, against #43,868 for "fey". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering fey vs fies

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

Read both glosses above and match the meaning you intend, only context separates this pair.
See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “fey” entry
Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable