Which to use
“firm” is an adjective and “Firma” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #49,672
- “firm” frequency rank
- #854
- “Firma” frequency rank
- 50526
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | firm | Firma |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | umfassende Kenntnisse und Erfahrungen auf einem speziellen Gebiet besitzend | der Name, unter dem ein Kaufmann seine Geschäfte betreibt und die Unterschrift abgibt, unter dem er außerdem klagen und verklagt werden kann (§ 17 HGB) |
Where the eye mixes firm and Firma
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between firm and Firma
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: firm is [fɪʁm] while Firma is [ˈfɪʁma]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 extra letter(s) - “firm” sits inside “Firma”, and the parts of speech differ too (adjective vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 50526, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
firm is recorded at frequency rank #49,672, classified as anadj, pronounced [fɪʁm]. Firma is at rank #854, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈfɪʁma].
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 50526, this pair ranks #1,170,375 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of firm vs Firma
Shared letters: fimr. Private to "firm": -. Private to "Firma": a.
"firm" · 4 letters · shape CVCC · "Firma" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "firm" for "Firma" ever safe?
Frequency check: "firm" vs "Firma" - which ranks higher?
What to do next
Eye-level mix-up between "firm" and "Firma" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "firm" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "Firma" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,170,375 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "firm" and "Firma" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "firm 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 #1,170,375 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.