FiebervsFilterConfusable pair

Which to use

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

#5,828
“Fieber” frequency rank
#5,945
“Filter” frequency rank
11773
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Fieber Filter
Definition Erhöhung der Körpertemperatur im Krankheitsfall; Schutzreaktion des Körpers, um Krankheitserreger abzutöten Material zur Trennung oder Aussonderung bestimmter Substanzen

Where the eye mixes Fieber and Filter

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. Fieber (CVVCVC) and Filter (CVCCVC) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.

6 ch
Fieber
6 ch
Filter

Visual trap between Fieber and Filter

A purely visual mix-up. Fieber ([ˈfiːbɐ]) and Filter ([ˈfɪltɐ]) 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 11773, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Fieber is recorded at frequency rank #5,828, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈfiːbɐ]. Filter is at rank #5,945, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈfɪltɐ].

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 11773, this pair ranks #1,967,982 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of Fieber vs Filter

Shared letters: efir. Private to "Fieber": b. Private to "Filter": lt.

"Fieber" · 6 letters · shape CVVCVC  ·  "Filter" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Fieber ← feiber · ffieber · fibeer · fiebber · fieberr · fiebre · fieebr · ifeber
  • Filter ← ffilter · filetr · fillter · filterr · filtre · filtter · fitler · fliter

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "Fieber" and "Filter" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([ˈfiːbɐ] versus [ˈfɪltɐ]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
In ordinary German text, does "Fieber" or "Filter" show up more?
"Fieber" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #5,828 in our German list, against #5,945 for "Filter". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

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 "Fieber" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Filter" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,967,982 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Fieber" and "Filter" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Färber vs Fieber". 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 #1,967,982 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