entfliehenvsentziehenTell them apart

Which to use

“entfliehen” and “entziehen” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#20,900
“entfliehen” frequency rank
#8,196
“entziehen” frequency rank
29096
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature entfliehen entziehen
Definition aus einer Gefahr, aus einer Zwangslage entkommen (ein Recht oder eine Erlaubnis) wegnehmen

Where the eye mixes entfliehen and entziehen

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 8 letters in sequence. entfliehen runs 10 letters (VCCCCVVCVC) against entziehen's 9 (VCCCVVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

10 ch
entfliehen
9 ch
entziehen

Look-alike desk: entfliehen vs entziehen

A purely visual mix-up. entfliehen ([ɛntˈfliːən]) and entziehen ([ɛntˈt͡siːən]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 29096, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

entfliehen is recorded at frequency rank #20,900, classified as averb, pronounced [ɛntˈfliːən]. entziehen is at rank #8,196, tagged as averb, pronounced [ɛntˈt͡siːən].

Glosses for this pair are partially populated in our dataset, but the full side-by-side definitions above should still guide you to the right choice.

With a confusion score of 29096, this pair ranks #1,773,100 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of entfliehen vs entziehen

Shared letters: ehint. Private to "entfliehen": fl. Private to "entziehen": z.

"entfliehen" · 10 letters · shape VCCCCVVCVC  ·  "entziehen" · 9 letters · shape VCCCVVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • entfliehen ← enftliehen · enntfliehen · entffliehen · entfilehen · entfleihen · entflieehn · entfliehenn · entfliehhen
  • entziehen ← enntziehen · entizehen · enttziehen · entzeihen · entzieehn · entziehenn · entziehhen · entziehne

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "entfliehen" and "entziehen" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ɛntˈfliːən] versus [ɛntˈt͡siːən]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
In ordinary German text, does "entfliehen" or "entziehen" show up more?
"entziehen" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #8,196 in our German list, against #20,900 for "entfliehen". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.

  • Full dictionary entry for "entfliehen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "entziehen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,773,100 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "entfliehen" and "entziehen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "entfielen vs entfliehen". Nearby pair
  • Recorded mistypes exist for at least one side of this pair, useful when a spell-checker or OCR lands on the wrong form. See mistypes

Confusion rank #1,773,100 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list