Which to use
“gefärbt” is a verb and “gefasst” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #9,912
- “gefärbt” frequency rank
- #4,199
- “gefasst” frequency rank
- 14111
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | gefärbt | gefasst |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Partizip Perfekt des Verbs färben | beherrscht, gesammelt |
Where the eye mixes gefärbt and gefasst
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. gefärbt and gefasst follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (CVCVCCC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.
Why the eye confuses gefärbt with gefasst
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: gefärbt is [ɡəˈfɛʁpt] while gefasst is [ɡəˈfast]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 3 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 14111, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
gefärbt is recorded at frequency rank #9,912, classified as averb, pronounced [ɡəˈfɛʁpt]. gefasst is at rank #4,199, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ɡəˈfast].
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 14111, this pair ranks #1,953,482 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of gefärbt vs gefasst
Shared letters: efgt. Private to "gefärbt": brä. Private to "gefasst": as.
"gefärbt" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCCC · "gefasst" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCCC
Known mistypes of this pair
- gefasst ← egfasst · geafsst · gefasstt · gefast · gefasts · gefaßt · geffasst · gefsast
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "gefärbt" and "gefasst" be used interchangeably?
In ordinary German text, does "gefärbt" or "gefasst" show up more?
What to do next
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "gefärbt" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "gefasst" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,953,482 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "gefärbt" and "gefasst" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "gefasst vs gepisst". Nearby pair
- Recorded mistypes exist for at least one side of this pair, useful when a spell-checker or OCR lands on the wrong form. See mistypes
Confusion rank #1,953,482 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.