fügtenvsfütternWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

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

#45,292
“fügten” frequency rank
#11,238
“füttern” frequency rank
56530
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature fügten füttern
Definition 1. Person Plural Indikativ Präteritum Aktiv des Verbs fügen einem Tier Nahrung geben

Where the eye mixes fügten and füttern

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. fügten runs 6 letters (CVCCVC) against füttern's 7 (CVCCVCC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

6 ch
fügten
7 ch
füttern

Visual trap between fügten and füttern

A purely visual mix-up. fügten ([ˈfyːktn̩]) and füttern ([ˈfʏtɐn]) 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 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 56530, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

fügten is recorded at frequency rank #45,292, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈfyːktn̩]. füttern is at rank #11,238, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈfʏtɐn].

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 56530, this pair ranks #936,622 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of fügten vs füttern

Shared letters: efntü. Private to "fügten": g. Private to "füttern": r.

"fügten" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC  ·  "füttern" · 7 letters · shape CVCCVCC

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "fügten" for "füttern" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([ˈfyːktn̩] versus [ˈfʏtɐn]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
In ordinary German text, does "fügten" or "füttern" show up more?
"füttern" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #11,238 in our German list, against #45,292 for "fügten". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.

  • Full dictionary entry for "fügten" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "füttern" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #936,622 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "fügten" and "füttern" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "fegen vs fügten". Nearby pair

Confusion rank #936,622 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