fullvsfürWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: full is a adjective, für is a preposition, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“full” is an adjective and “für” is a preposition - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#7,319
“full” frequency rank
#16
“für” frequency rank
7335
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature full für
Definition mit (nahezu) maximalen Inhalt seiend; voll etwas oder jemand ist an etwas jemanden gerichtet, bestimmt, zugeordnet

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set full and für apart are highlighted. They share 1 letter in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

4 ch
full
3 ch
für

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

full and für form a confusable pair in the German index, two distinct headwords that are easily confused because they look alike, sound alike, or both. They differ by 1 letter(s) in length - close enough that the eye skips over the difference, far enough that meaning fully diverges. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 7335, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

full is recorded at frequency rank #7,319, classified as anadj, pronounced [fʊl]. für is at rank #16, tagged as aprep, pronounced [fyːɐ̯].

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 7335, this pair ranks #1,988,536 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Frequency comparison

full#7,319
für#16

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "full" and "für" be used interchangeably?
No, "full" and "für" have distinct meanings and cannot be swapped without changing the meaning of a sentence. Understanding the specific definition and context for each word is essential for correct usage.

Remembering full vs für

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need an adjective, it's “full”; for a preposition, it's “für”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “full” 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 FrequencyWords open word-frequency list