fein
German, adjective/faɪ̯n/
fein is spelled F-E-I-N (4 letters) and appears 22 times per million words in written German, the 3,656th most frequent German word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). Fein is a German adjective meaning “fine (not rough, coarse, or thick)” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The German Wiktionary defines it as “dünn, feinkörnig, zart”.
What does fein mean in English?
adjective
- 1
fine (not rough, coarse, or thick)
sehr feines Mehl
- 2
datedfine; very good; as it should be
ein feiner Kerl
- 3
refined; posh; fancy
ein feines Restaurant
- 4
too good (not willing to do something or associate with it because one thinks it beneath one)
Er ist (sich) zu fein zum Abwaschen.
Source: English Wiktionary, German section, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0).
How German dictionaries define it
adjective: 1. dünn, feinkörnig, zart 2. psychisch / einfühlsam, feinfühlig, feinsinnig 3. sehr gut, von sehr guter Qualität 4. gute Qualität bezeichnend: genau, scharf
The definition in the German Wiktionary, in German.
Source: German Wiktionary, dump of September 1, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org.
Forms of fein
- feiner masculine nominative singular
- am feinsten superlative
- feine feminine nominative singular
- feines neuter nominative singular
- feinen genitive masculine singular
- feinem dative masculine singular
- der feine definite includes-article masculine
- die feine definite feminine includes-article
- das feine definite includes-article neuter
- die feinen definite includes-article nominative
- des feinen definite genitive includes-article
- der feinen definite feminine genitive
- dem feinen dative definite includes-article
Source: English Wiktionary and German Wiktionary (dumps of September 2, 2026 and September 1, 2026).
How do you pronounce fein?
- /faɪ̯n/
- [faɪ̯n]
Sources: English Wiktionary, German Wiktionary (dumps of September 2, 2026 and September 1, 2026); recordings from Wikimedia Commons.
English words that translate to fein
Source: the translation tables of the English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026.
How common is fein in German?
fein appears 22 times per million words in written German.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).