filsvsfixWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: fils is a noun, fix is an adjective, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“fils” is a noun and “fix” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#49,670
“fils” frequency rank
#6,793
“fix” frequency rank
56463
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature fils fix
Definition männlicher Nachkomme: Sohn starr, unveränderlich

Where the eye mixes fils and fix

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.

4 ch
fils
3 ch
fix

Look-alike desk: fils vs fix

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: fils is [fis] while fix is [fɪks]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 56463, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

fils is recorded at frequency rank #49,670, classified as anoun, pronounced [fis]. fix is at rank #6,793, tagged as anadj, pronounced [fɪks].

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 56463, this pair ranks #939,206 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of fils vs fix

Shared letters: fi. Private to "fils": ls. Private to "fix": x.

"fils" · 4 letters · shape CVCC  ·  "fix" · 3 letters · shape CVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • filsffils · fills · filss · fisl · flis · ifls

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "fils" for "fix" ever safe?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "fils" is a noun and "fix" an adjective, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "fils" or "fix"?
"fix" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #6,793 in our German list, against #49,670 for "fils". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Useful next steps

Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.

  • Full dictionary entry for "fils" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "fix" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #939,206 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "fils" and "fix" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "fils 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 #939,206 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