GefiedervsGliederWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

“Gefieder” and “Glieder” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#43,200
“Gefieder” frequency rank
#25,155
“Glieder” frequency rank
68355
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Gefieder Glieder
Definition Gesamtheit der Federn, welche die Haut eines Vogels bedecken Nominativ Plural des Substantivs Glied

Where the eye mixes Gefieder and Glieder

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. Gefieder runs 8 letters (CVCVVCVC) against Glieder's 7 (CCVVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

8 ch
Gefieder
7 ch
Glieder

Look-alike desk: Gefieder vs Glieder

A purely visual mix-up. Gefieder ([ɡəˈfiːdɐ]) and Glieder ([ˈɡliːdɐ]) 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 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 68355, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Gefieder is recorded at frequency rank #43,200, classified as anoun, pronounced [ɡəˈfiːdɐ]. Glieder is at rank #25,155, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈɡliːdɐ].

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 68355, this pair ranks #510,388 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of Gefieder vs Glieder

Shared letters: degir. Private to "Gefieder": f. Private to "Glieder": l.

"Gefieder" · 8 letters · shape CVCVVCVC  ·  "Glieder" · 7 letters · shape CCVVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Gefieder ← egfieder · gefeider · geffieder · gefideer · gefiedder · gefiederr · gefiedre · gefieedr
  • Glieder ← gglieder · gileder · gleider · glideer · gliedder · gliederr · gliedre · glieedr

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "Gefieder" and "Glieder" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ɡəˈfiːdɐ] versus [ˈɡliːdɐ]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "Gefieder" or "Glieder"?
"Glieder" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #25,155 in our German list, against #43,200 for "Gefieder". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Useful next steps

Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.

  • Full dictionary entry for "Gefieder" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Glieder" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #510,388 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Gefieder" and "Glieder" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Gefieder vs Gefilden". 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 #510,388 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list