fühltvsfünftWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: fühlt is a verb, fünft is a num, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“fühlt” is a verb and “fünft” is a num - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#1,478
“fühlt” frequency rank
#41,828
“fünft” frequency rank
43306
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature fühlt fünft
Definition 3. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs fühlen mit mit einer Gruppe aus fünf Individuen etwas machen

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set fühlt and fünft apart are highlighted. They share 3 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

5 ch
fühlt
5 ch
fünft

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: fühlt is [fyːlt] while fünft is [fʏnft]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs num), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 43306, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

fühlt is recorded at frequency rank #1,478, classified as averb, pronounced [fyːlt]. fünft is at rank #41,828, tagged as anum, pronounced [fʏnft].

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 43306, this pair ranks #1,422,202 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of fühlt vs fünft

Shared letters: ftü. Private to "fühlt": hl. Private to "fünft": n.

"fühlt" · 5 letters · shape CVCCC  ·  "fünft" · 5 letters · shape CVCCC

Frequency comparison

fühlt#1,478
fünft#41,828

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "fühlt" and "fünft" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "fühlt" is a verb and "fünft" a num, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "fühlt" or "fünft"?
"fühlt" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #1,478 in our German list, against #41,828 for "fünft". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

Remembering fühlt vs fünft

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a verb, it's “fühlt”; for a num, it's “fünft”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “fühlt” 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