Which to use
“fühlte” is a verb and “fünfte” is a num - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #4,119
- “fühlte” frequency rank
- #6,062
- “fünfte” frequency rank
- 10181
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | fühlte | fünfte |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präteritum Aktiv des Verbs fühlen | nach dem beziehungsweise der vierten kommend; dem, der beziehungsweise des sechsten vorausgehend |
Where the spellings diverge
Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set fühlte and fünfte apart are highlighted. They share 4 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: fühlte is [ˈfyːltə] while fünfte is [ˈfʏnftə]. 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 10181, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
fühlte is recorded at frequency rank #4,119, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈfyːltə]. fünfte is at rank #6,062, tagged as anum, pronounced [ˈfʏnftə].
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 10181, this pair ranks #1,976,393 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of fühlte vs fünfte
Shared letters: eftü. Private to "fühlte": hl. Private to "fünfte": n.
"fühlte" · 6 letters · shape CVCCCV · "fünfte" · 6 letters · shape CVCCCV
Frequency comparison
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "fühlte" and "fünfte" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "fühlte" or "fünfte"?
Remembering fühlte vs fünfte
The fastest way to pick the right one every time.
- Check the role first: if you need a verb, it's “fühlte”; for a num, it's “fünfte”.
- See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “fühlte” entry
- Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable