fingenvsfingersWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#18,242
“fingen” frequency rank
#35,771
“fingers” frequency rank
54013
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature fingen fingers
Definition 1. Person Plural Präteritum Indikativ des Verbs fangen 3. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs finger

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set fingen and fingers apart are highlighted. They share 5 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

6 ch
fingen
7 ch
fingers

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

fingen and fingers 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 54013, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

fingen is recorded at frequency rank #18,242, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈfɪŋən]. fingers is at rank #35,771, tagged as averb, pronounced […].

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 54013, this pair ranks #1,035,477 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of fingen vs fingers

Shared letters: efgin. Private to "fingen": -. Private to "fingers": rs.

"fingen" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC  ·  "fingers" · 7 letters · shape CVCCVCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • fingenffingen · fignen · finegn · fingenn · finggen · fingne · finngen · fnigen
  • fingersffingers · figners · finegrs · fingerrs · fingerss · fingesr · finggers · fingres

Frequency comparison

fingen#18,242
fingers#35,771

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "fingen" and "fingers" 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, "fingen" or "fingers"?
"fingen" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #18,242 in our German list, against #35,771 for "fingers". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering fingen vs fingers

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 “fingen” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list