fehlschlagen

[ˈfeːlˌʃlaːɡn̩]

/[ˈfeːlˌʃlaːɡn̩]/ verb

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

The verdict

“fehlschlagen” is uncommon German (frequency #88,914 among 3,474 “F” headwords), classed as a verb. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#88,914
frequency rank, German
3,474
“F” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - nicht den gewünschten Erfolg bringen

Corpus desk

Index DE-fehlschlagen · fehlschlagen · German

fehlschlagen · rank #88,914 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #88,914
  • LEN-MEGA 12 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-MID 3,474
  • PHOTO-FINISH fauchen

Nearest frequency peer: fauchen (-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.

Langschwanz-Ränge nahe „fehlschlagen“

Dünnes Band: Balken invertieren den Rang, seltenere Formen wirken kürzer

corpus weight

What this shows Langschwanz-Sicht: wo „fehlschlagen“ gegen ähnlich seltene deutsche Ränge sitzt.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for fehlschlagen
PropertyValue
Headwordfehlschlagen
LanguageGerman
Part of speechVerb
IPA[ˈfeːlˌʃlaːɡn̩]
Letters12
Frequency rank#88,914
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Langschwanz-Rang von „fehlschlagen“ im Deutschen

Von links nach rechts: die wenigen Träger des Alltags, dann der lange Schwanz kaum gebrauchter Formen.fehlschlagenfällt in diesen Seltenheitsbereich:

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

Die Achse ist logarithmisch: jeder Tick markiert etwa zehnfach geringere Häufigkeit. Seltene Nachbarn derselben Bandbreite: „fauchen“ (#88,913), „fatigue“ (#88,912), „Fesselung“ (#88,916). Unter 3,474 „F“-Lemmata liegt „fehlschlagen“ bei #88,914. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

fehlschlagen is uncommon German at frequency #88,914 among 3,474 “F” headwords, classed as averb, transcribed [ˈfeːlˌʃlaːɡn̩]. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "nicht den gewünschten Erfolg bringen".

Zero misspellings are on record for fehlschlagen in our index, which points to an orthography that plays by predictable German rules. We don't track a confusable pairing for this entry, since its spelling is unusual enough that it doesn't cluster with a lookalike.

This headword's origin isn't recorded in our source data, so its spelling is best explained by sound-to-letter mapping rather than etymology. The correct German form is fehlschlagen, spelled F-E-H-L-S-C-H-L-A-G-E-N.

Definition

  1. 1
    nicht den gewünschten Erfolg bringen

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. Unser letztes Projekt ist fehlgeschlagen.
  2. Doch selbst dieser Versuch einer Schadensbegrenzung musste letztlich fehlschlagen.

Synonyms

danebengehendanebengeratenfehlgehenfloppenin die Hose gehenmissglückenmisslingenmissratenscheiternschiefgehen

Antonyms

gelingenglückenklappen

This word in other languages

abort(English)fallar(Español)échouer(Français)

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 "fehlschlagen"?
"fehlschlagen" is spelled F-E-H-L-S-C-H-L-A-G-E-N. The IPA pronunciation is [ˈfeːlˌʃlaːɡn̩].
What does "fehlschlagen" mean?
As a verb, "fehlschlagen" means: nicht den gewünschten Erfolg bringen
How do you pronounce "fehlschlagen"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "fehlschlagen" is [ˈfeːlˌʃlaːɡn̩]. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "fehlschlagen" come from?
"fehlschlagen" is a German word. PlainSpell's reference spans five languages -- English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German -- with definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data for each.
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 "fehlschlagen", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked German headwords with 12 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

exklusivsten#88,896Ethnographie#88,891Französinnen#88,941ernstgemeint#88,881

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list