Which to use
“fürchte” and “fürchten” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #6,660
- “fürchte” frequency rank
- #5,172
- “fürchten” frequency rank
- 11832
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | fürchte | fürchten |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs fürchten | etwas fürchten: vor etwas Angst (Furcht) haben |
Where the eye mixes fürchte and fürchten
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence. fürchte runs 7 letters (CVCCCCV) against fürchten's 8 (CVCCCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses fürchte with fürchten
A purely visual mix-up. fürchte ([ˈfʏʁçtə]) and fürchten ([ˈfʏʁçtn̩]) 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 extra letter(s) - “fürchte” sits inside “fürchten”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 11832, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
fürchte is recorded at frequency rank #6,660, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈfʏʁçtə]. fürchten is at rank #5,172, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈfʏʁçtn̩].
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 11832, this pair ranks #1,967,650 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of fürchte vs fürchten
Shared letters: cefhrtü. Private to "fürchte": -. Private to "fürchten": n.
"fürchte" · 7 letters · shape CVCCCCV · "fürchten" · 8 letters · shape CVCCCCVC
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "fürchte" and "fürchten" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "fürchte" or "fürchten"?
What to do next
Eye-level mix-up between "fürchte" and "fürchten" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "fürchte" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "fürchten" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,967,650 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "fürchte" and "fürchten" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "forschte vs fürchte". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #1,967,650 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.