Which to use
“fis” and “fist” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #26,408
- “fis” frequency rank
- #49,674
- “fist” frequency rank
- 76082
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | fis | fist |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | 1. Person Singulra Indikativ historisches Perfekt Aktiv des Verbs faire | 2. Person Singular Imperativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs fisten |
Where the eye mixes fis and fist
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence. fis runs 3 letters (CVC) against fist's 4 (CVCC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses fis with fist
A purely visual mix-up. fis ([fi]) and fist ([fɪst]) 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 extra letter(s) - “fis” sits inside “fist”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 76082, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
fis is recorded at frequency rank #26,408, classified as averb, pronounced [fi]. fist is at rank #49,674, tagged as averb, pronounced [fɪst].
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 76082, this pair ranks #292,207 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of fis vs fist
Shared letters: fis. Private to "fis": -. Private to "fist": t.
"fis" · 3 letters · shape CVC · "fist" · 4 letters · shape CVCC
Known mistypes of this pair
- fist ← ffist · fisst · fistt · fits · fsit · ifst
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "fis" for "fist" ever safe?
In ordinary German text, does "fis" or "fist" show up more?
After this comparison
Eye-level mix-up between "fis" and "fist" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "fis" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "fist" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #292,207 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "fis" and "fist" 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 #292,207 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.