faulen

[ˈfaʊ̯lən]

/[ˈfaʊ̯lən]/ verb

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

The verdict

“faulen” has 8 generated spelling variants in the German index at frequency #17,886. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#17,886
frequency rank, German
3,474
“F” headwords
8
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - von Mikroorganismen zersetzt werden; in Fäulnis übergehen

Corpus desk

Index DE-faulen · faulen · German

faulen · rank #17,886 · 8 variants · 20 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #17,886
  • LEN-LONG 6 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
  • VAR-MID 8 variants
  • BOOK-MID 3,474
  • PHOTO-FINISH fatal

Nearest frequency peer: fatal (-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.

Rang-Peers am Tippfehler-Magneten „faulen“

Gleiche Seltenheitsbandbreite: nützlich, wenn ein Tippfehler auf ein Peer-Lemma trifft

corpus weight

What this shows „faulen“ sitzt unter diesen FrequencyWords-Peers; die Tippfehlertiefe steht separat im Edit-Distance-Chart.

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).

faulen vs fügen
50% similar
faulen vs Faxen
50% similar
faulen vs Frauen
50% similar

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

Key facts for faulen
PropertyValue
Headwordfaulen
LanguageGerman
Part of speechVerb
IPA[ˈfaʊ̯lən]
Letters6
Frequency rank#17,886
Misspellings tracked8
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Häufigkeitslage von Tippfehler-Magnet „faulen“

Von links nach rechts: die wenigen Träger des Alltags, dann der lange Schwanz kaum gebrauchter Formen.faulenliegt hier neben dem Tippfehler-Druck:

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

Die Ticks laufen logarithmisch; jeder ist rund zehnmal seltener. Peers derselben Seltenheitsbandbreite: „fatal“ (#17,885), „Feinstaub“ (#17,887), „Farmer“ (#17,884). Unter 3,474 „F“-Lemmata liegt „faulen“ bei #17,886. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 8 spelling variants around faulen (IPA [ˈfaʊ̯lən]), averb. Corpus frequency is #17,886 among 3,474 “F” headwords. Dominant gloss: "von Mikroorganismen zersetzt werden; in Fäulnis übergehen".

Our generated misspelling index lists 8 likely wrong-spelling variants for faulen, with forms such as "afulen", "faluen", and "faueln". Each of these forms differs from the correct spelling by one small edit: a doubled letter, a dropped silent letter, or a substituted vowel. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "fügen", "Faxen", "Frauen", and more, since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.

This entry carries no recorded etymology, so its spelling pattern is best understood through pronunciation rather than a traceable origin. The correct German form is faulen, spelled F-A-U-L-E-N.

Definition

  1. 1
    von Mikroorganismen zersetzt werden; in Fäulnis übergehen

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. Der Apfel fault schon.
  2. Kellerasseln leben gerne unter faulendem Holz.

Synonyms

ausfaulendurchfaulenfaul werdenin FäulnisGärungVerwesung übergehenmodernschlechtungenießbar werdenverderbenverfaulenvermodernverrottenverwesengammelig werdenvergammelnrotten

Antonyms

schimmeln

This word in other languages

putrefy(English)putréfier(Français)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • afulen
  • faluen
  • faueln
  • faulenn
  • faullen
  • faulne
  • ffaulen
  • fualen

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of faulen - counted as single-character edits (an insertion, a deletion, or a substituted letter). The larger the bar, the easier the typo is to spot; one-edit slips are the ones that sneak past readers.

afulen2faluen2faueln2faulenn1faullen1faulne2ffaulen1fualen2
Edit distance from "faulen"

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 "faulen"?
"faulen" is spelled F-A-U-L-E-N. The IPA pronunciation is [ˈfaʊ̯lən].
What does "faulen" mean?
As a verb, "faulen" means: von Mikroorganismen zersetzt werden; in Fäulnis übergehen
What words are commonly confused with "faulen"?
"faulen" is commonly confused with "fügen", "Faxen", "Frauen". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "faulen"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "faulen" is [ˈfaʊ̯lən]. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "faulen" come from?
"faulen" is a German word. PlainSpell covers definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data across English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German.
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 "faulen", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked German headwords with 6 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

Farmer#17,884fairer#17,883forest#17,892essays#17,877

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (8 here; floor ≥5).

Etappen8 variantserregen8 variantsCindy8 variantscherry8 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list