fate

[feɪt]

/[feɪt]/ noun

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

The verdict

“fate” sits in 20 confusable pairs (corpus #35,761) as a noun. The look-alike neighbours are the real trap.

#35,761
frequency rank, German
3,474
“F” headwords
4
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - die (eher leidlichen) Dinge oder Umstände, die jemandem widerfahren; Geschick, Schicksal

Corpus desk

Index DE-fate · fate · German

fate · rank #35,761 · 4 variants · 20 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #35,761
  • LEN-MID 4 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
  • VAR-LOW 4 variants
  • BOOK-MID 3,474
  • PHOTO-FINISH Faustregel

Nearest frequency peer: Faustregel (+1 rank slots)

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Häufigkeitsnachbarn des Verwechslers „fate“

Peers mit ähnlichem Corpus-Gewicht, getrennt von den Verwechslungspaaren unten

corpus weight

What this shows Balken platzieren „fate“ gegen die nächsten gerankten deutschen Lemmata, kein Reprint der Verwechslungsdesk.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

fate vs Fe
25% similar
fate vs fit
50% similar
fate vs faz
50% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for fate
PropertyValue
Headwordfate
LanguageGerman
Part of speechNoun
IPA[feɪt]
Letters4
Frequency rank#35,761
Misspellings tracked4
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Corpus-Rang neben Verwechslern von „fate“

Von links nach rechts: die wenigen Träger des Alltags, dann der lange Schwanz kaum gebrauchter Formen.fateliegt auf dieser Marke:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Die Skala ist logarithmisch (jeder Tick ≈ 10× seltener). Peers derselben Seltenheitsbandbreite: „Faustregel“ (#35,762), „Feigling“ (#35,763), „Fachärzte“ (#35,758). Unter 3,474 „F“-Lemmata liegt „fate“ bei #35,761. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Easy to mix with look-alikes

The spelling risk for fate is neighbouring look-alikes ("Fe", "fit", …), not just typos; it is anoun pronounced [feɪt]. Frequency #35,761 among 3,474 “F” headwords. 2 recorded senses keep meaning in play.

Our generated misspelling index lists 4 likely wrong-spelling variants for fate, with forms such as "afte", "fatte", and "ffate". Each variant is a distinct typo pattern an edit-distance generator flags, typically a doubled-consonant error, a silent-letter drop, or a vowel substitution. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "Fe", "fit", "faz", and more, since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.

Our source data has no etymology on file for this entry, so its spelling pattern is best understood through pronunciation rather than a traceable origin. The correct German form is fate, spelled F-A-T-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    die (eher leidlichen) Dinge oder Umstände, die jemandem widerfahren; Geschick, Schicksal
  2. 2
    jene höhere Macht, die alles lenkt; Schicksal, Los

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how fate appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. This is a meeting that decides the fate of thousands of employees.
  2. Fate decreed that they would never meet again.

Synonyms

destiny

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • afte
  • fatte
  • ffate
  • ftae

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of fate - expressed in single-character edits (insert, delete, or swap one letter). Bigger bars stand out at a glance; a one-edit slip is the hardest to catch.

afte2fatte1ffate1ftae2
Edit distance from "fate"

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 German corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "fate"?
"fate" is spelled F-A-T-E. The IPA pronunciation is [feɪt].
What does "fate" mean?
As a noun, "fate" means: die (eher leidlichen) Dinge oder Umstände, die jemandem widerfahren; Geschick, Schicksal
What words are commonly confused with "fate"?
"fate" is commonly confused with "Fe", "fit", "faz". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "fate"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "fate" is [feɪt]. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "fate" come from?
"fate" is a German word. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data for this and other words across English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German on PlainSpell.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar German words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "fate", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked German headwords with 4 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

eint#35,734hale#35,821huhu#35,838Inch#35,849

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list