feign

[feɪn]

/[feɪn]/ verb

The verdict

“feign” is uncommon German (outside the top frequency list), classed as a verb. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

Unranked
below top-frequency German
5
letters

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - (eine Krankheit) vortäuschen, simulieren

Corpus desk

Index DE-feign · feign · German

feign · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
  • LEN-MID 5 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-THIN "F" thin
  • PHOTO-UNK Peer pending

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.

Key facts for feign
PropertyValue
Headwordfeign
LanguageGerman
Part of speechVerb
IPA[feɪn]
Letters5
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Langschwanz-Rang von „feign“ im Deutschen

feignliegt außerhalb der 100.000 häufigsten deutschen Wörter, im Langschwanz technischer, archaischer oder seltener Formen, genau dort, wo Schreibzweifeln zuschlagen.

Beyond rank #100,000. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

feign is uncommon German outside the top frequency list, classed as averb, transcribed [feɪn]. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 3 senses are on record.

feign doesn't appear in our generated misspelling index, since its letter sequence doesn't invite the usual edit-distance slips. Our dataset records no confusable match here, which tends to mean the word is visually distinctive enough to stand on its own.

No explicit etymology string is stored for this entry, so its spelling is best read as a straightforward mapping from sound to letter. The correct German form is feign, spelled F-E-I-G-N.

Definition

  1. 1
    (eine Krankheit) vortäuschen, simulieren
  2. 2
    (eine Ausrede) erfinden
  3. 3
    sich verstellen, so tun als ob, simulieren

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "feign"?
"feign" is spelled F-E-I-G-N. The IPA pronunciation is [feɪn].
What does "feign" mean?
As a verb, "feign" means: (eine Krankheit) vortäuschen, simulieren
How do you pronounce "feign"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "feign" is [feɪn]. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "feign" come from?
"feign" 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.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list