fisvsfryWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

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

#26,408
“fis” frequency rank
#39,942
“fry” frequency rank
66350
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature fis fry
Definition 1. Person Singulra Indikativ historisches Perfekt Aktiv des Verbs faire braten

Where the eye mixes fis and fry

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 1 letter in sequence.

3 ch
fis
3 ch
fry

Why the eye confuses fis with fry

A purely visual mix-up. fis ([fi]) and fry ([fɹaɪ]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 66350, 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]. fry is at rank #39,942, tagged as averb, pronounced [fɹaɪ].

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 66350, this pair ranks #576,288 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of fis vs fry

Shared letters: f. Private to "fis": is. Private to "fry": ry.

"fis" · 3 letters · shape CVC  ·  "fry" · 3 letters · shape CCV

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "fis" and "fry" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([fi] versus [fɹaɪ]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "fis" or "fry"?
"fis" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #26,408 in our German list, against #39,942 for "fry". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Useful next steps

Eye-level mix-up between "fis" and "fry" 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 "fry" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #576,288 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "fis" and "fry" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "firm vs fry". Nearby pair

Confusion rank #576,288 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