FigurvsFrisurWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

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

#2,391
“Figur” frequency rank
#9,547
“Frisur” frequency rank
11938
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Figur Frisur
Definition Körperform, menschliche Gestalt Art, wie die Haare geschnitten und aufgemacht sind

Where the eye mixes Figur and Frisur

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. Figur runs 5 letters (CVCVC) against Frisur's 6 (CCVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

5 ch
Figur
6 ch
Frisur

Why the eye confuses Figur with Frisur

A purely visual mix-up. Figur ([fiˈɡuːɐ̯]) and Frisur ([ˌfʁiˈzuːɐ̯]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 11938, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Figur is recorded at frequency rank #2,391, classified as anoun, pronounced [fiˈɡuːɐ̯]. Frisur is at rank #9,547, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˌfʁiˈzuːɐ̯].

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 11938, this pair ranks #1,967,113 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of Figur vs Frisur

Shared letters: firu. Private to "Figur": g. Private to "Frisur": s.

"Figur" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC  ·  "Frisur" · 6 letters · shape CCVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Figur ← ffigur · fgiur · figgur · figru · figurr · fiugr · ifgur
  • Frisur ← ffrisur · firsur · frisru · frissur · frisurr · friusr · frrisur · frsiur

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "Figur" and "Frisur" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([fiˈɡuːɐ̯] versus [ˌfʁiˈzuːɐ̯]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "Figur" vs "Frisur" - which ranks higher?
"Figur" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #2,391 in our German list, against #9,547 for "Frisur". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

Eye-level mix-up between "Figur" and "Frisur" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.

  • Full dictionary entry for "Figur" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Frisur" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,967,113 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Figur" and "Frisur" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "friss vs Frisur". 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 #1,967,113 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