fei

[faɪ̯]

/[faɪ̯]/ particle

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

The verdict

“fei” sits in 20 confusable pairs (corpus #21,248) as a particle. The look-alike neighbours are the real trap.

#21,248
frequency rank, German
3,474
“F” headwords
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - erzgebirgisch, fränkisch, süddeutsch, oberdeutsch, drückt aus, dass man annimmt, dass die oder der Angesprochene das Gesagte noch nicht weiß

Corpus desk

Index DE-fei · fei · German

fei · rank #21,248 · 0 variants · 20 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #21,248
  • LEN-MID 3 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-MID 3,474
  • PHOTO-FINISH federal

Nearest frequency peer: federal (-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 „fei“

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

corpus weight

What this shows Balken platzieren „fei“ 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).

fei vs fi
67% similar
fei vs FH
0% similar
fei vs fl
33% similar

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

Key facts for fei
PropertyValue
Headwordfei
LanguageGerman
Part of speechParticle
IPA[faɪ̯]
Letters3
Frequency rank#21,248
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Corpus-Rang neben Verwechslern von „fei“

Diese Skala geht vom Kern des Alltagdeutschen (links) bis zum seltenen Langschwanz (rechts).feiliegt auf dieser Marke:

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

Die Skala ist logarithmisch (jeder Tick ≈ 10× seltener). Peers derselben Seltenheitsbandbreite: „federal“ (#21,247), „Fettsäuren“ (#21,249), „Faulheit“ (#21,246). Unter 3,474 „F“-Lemmata liegt „fei“ bei #21,248. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Easy to mix with look-alikes

The spelling risk for fei is neighbouring look-alikes ("fi", "FH", …), not just typos; it is aparticle pronounced [faɪ̯]. Frequency #21,248 among 3,474 “F” headwords. 3 recorded senses keep meaning in play.

Zero misspellings are on record for fei in our index, since its letter sequence doesn't invite the usual edit-distance slips. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "fi", "FH", "fl", and more, a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.

Wiktionary doesn't record an etymology for this headword, so its spelling is best read as a straightforward mapping from sound to letter. The correct German form is fei, spelled F-E-I.

Definition

  1. 1
    erzgebirgisch, fränkisch, süddeutsch, oberdeutsch, drückt aus, dass man annimmt, dass die oder der Angesprochene das Gesagte noch nicht weiß
  2. 2
    erzgebirgisch, fränkisch, süddeutsch, oberdeutsch, wohl
  3. 3
    berndeutsch : ordentlich, recht

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. Des kann man fei sagen.
  2. Des tut fei weh.

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 "fei"?
"fei" is spelled F-E-I. The IPA pronunciation is [faɪ̯].
What does "fei" mean?
As a particle, "fei" means: erzgebirgisch, fränkisch, süddeutsch, oberdeutsch, drückt aus, dass man annimmt, dass die oder der Angesprochene das Gesagte noch nicht weiß
What words are commonly confused with "fei"?
"fei" is commonly confused with "fi", "FH", "fl". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "fei"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "fei" is [faɪ̯]. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "fei" come from?
"fei" 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 "fei", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked German headwords with 3 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

ESA#21,241ige#21,298IMO#21,299JMD#21,305

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list