A typo, a miscalculation, a wrong turn, or a life decision you regret—Germans call it a Fehler. Whether it’s technical or emotional, accidental or repeated, this is the word that covers it all.
The noun Fehler means mistake, error, or fault, and it’s one of the 1000 most frequently used nouns in German. You’ll see it in homework corrections, software bug reports, and everyday conversation.
It’s a masculine noun, so we say der Fehler.
Pronunciation
Fehler is pronounced [FAY-ler].
- The “Feh” rhymes with “may,”
- The “ler” is soft, like “lur,” and
- The stress is on the first syllable: FEH-ler.
It sounds gentle, almost forgiving—which is nice, because we all make them.
Example sentences:
- Der Fehler lag nicht bei dir.
The mistake wasn’t your fault. - Ich habe einen kleinen Fehler in der Rechnung entdeckt.
I found a small error in the invoice.
Nuance and usage tips
Fehler is an all-purpose word for things gone wrong, in any area of life:
- Technical / factual error
- Rechenfehler – calculation error
- Tippfehler – typo
- Systemfehler – system error
- Human mistake / misjudgment
- einen Fehler machen – to make a mistake
- Fehler zugeben – to admit a mistake
- aus Fehlern lernen – to learn from mistakes
- Defect / flaw
- Konstruktionsfehler – design flaw
- Produktionsfehler – manufacturing defect
Its antonyms depend on context:
- For mistake: Richtigkeit (correctness, feminine) or Treffer (a hit/correct answer, masculine)
- For flaw: Perfektion (perfection)
Grammatical case examples:
- Nominative:
Der Fehler war schwer zu finden.
The error was hard to find. - Accusative:
Ich habe den Fehler korrigiert.
I corrected the mistake. - Dative:
Mit dem Fehler konnte ich leben.
I could live with the mistake. - Genitive:
Wegen des Fehlers wurde das Projekt gestoppt.
Because of the error, the project was halted.
Masculine case pattern: der, den, dem, des
Word variations and language tidbits
Variation Station:
- Fehlermeldung – error message
- Fehlerquote – error rate
- Fehlverhalten – misconduct
- Irrtum – mistake (slightly more formal or legal-sounding)
- Versehen – oversight / accidental mistake
- flüchtiger Fehler – minor / careless error
Fun usage note:
The phrase aus Fehlern lernt man (“you learn from mistakes”) is a common life motto. It pairs well with niemand ist perfekt (“nobody is perfect”), a phrase Germans happily admit—even when correcting your grammar.
📘 Duden entry: https://www.duden.de/rechtschreibung/Fehler
🎥 Learn Fehler and the rest of the top 1000 German nouns in our free online video course:
https://deutschable.com/nouns/
Alternate translations note:
For flaw in artistic or personality contexts, Makel or Schwäche might also work. For guilt or fault, Schuld is more appropriate. But for nearly all day-to-day uses—whether it’s a typo or a bad decision—Fehler is your go-to word.
Ready for more German words of the day? Do you know what Erklärung means? How about Erinnerung? Find out!