Which to use
“fil” and “Filme” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #43,176
- “fil” frequency rank
- #1,631
- “Filme” frequency rank
- 44807
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | fil | Filme |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | mächtiges Säugetier mit Rüssel und Stoßzähnen; Elefant | Variante für den Dativ Singular des Substantivs Film |
Where the eye mixes fil and Filme
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses fil with Filme
A purely visual mix-up. fil ([fiɫ]) and Filme ([ˈfɪlmə]) 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 2 extra letter(s) - “fil” sits inside “Filme”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 44807, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
fil is recorded at frequency rank #43,176, classified as anoun, pronounced [fiɫ]. Filme is at rank #1,631, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈfɪlmə].
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 44807, this pair ranks #1,374,075 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of fil vs Filme
Shared letters: fil. Private to "fil": -. Private to "Filme": em.
"fil" · 3 letters · shape CVC · "Filme" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV
Known mistypes of this pair
- Filme ← ffilme · filem · fillme · filmme · fimle · flime · iflme
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "fil" for "Filme" ever safe?
Which is more common, "fil" or "Filme"?
What to do next
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "fil" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "Filme" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,374,075 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "fil" and "Filme" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "fil vs fist". 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 #1,374,075 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.