Fehler
[ˈfeːlɐ]
The verdict
“Fehler” is in the everyday core of German, ranked #746 in German word frequency and used as a noun.
- #746
- frequency rank, German
- 6
- letters
- 9
- tracked misspellings
- 20
- confusable pairs
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Abweichung von einem optimalen Zustand, Verfahren oder dem Richtigen
Visual similarity to commonly confused words
How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).
Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | Fehler |
| Language | German |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | [ˈfeːlɐ] |
| Letters | 6 |
| Frequency rank | #746 |
| Misspellings tracked | 9 |
| Confusable pairs | 20 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “Fehler” sits in German frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The German entry for Fehler is 6 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as [ˈfeːlɐ]. Corpus data places it at rank #746 in overall German word frequency, putting it firmly in the everyday core of the language. Wiktionary records 4 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.
Our generated misspelling index lists 9 likely wrong-spelling variants for Fehler, with forms such as "efhler", "fehelr", and "fehhler". 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, "fler", "fehlt", "Feuer", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.
Our source data has no etymology on file for this entry, so spelling patterns must be inferred from the word's phoneme-to-grapheme mapping rather than from a documented borrowing chain. The correct German form is Fehler, spelled F-E-H-L-E-R.
Definition
- 1Abweichung von einem optimalen Zustand, Verfahren oder dem Richtigen
- 2eine schadhafte Stelle, eine Stelle mit einem Mangel
- 3eine falsche Entscheidung, eine falsche Handlung
- 4eine körperliche oder charakterliche Schwäche
Synonyms
Antonyms
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as: efhler,fehelr,fehhler,fehlerr,fehller,fehlre,felher,ffehler,fheler
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of Fehler - 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.
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 "Fehler"?
What does "Fehler" mean?
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Is PlainSpell free to use?
Using “Fehler”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct German spelling is F-E-H-L-E-R - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as [ˈfeːlɐ] (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Don't mix it up with “fler” - see the side-by-side comparison. Fehler vs fler
- Browse more German words and confusable pairs in the same reference. German words
Data Source
Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.