Which to use
“fachen” and “flehen” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #29,116
- “fachen” frequency rank
- #40,536
- “flehen” frequency rank
- 69652
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | fachen | flehen |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | machen, dass es (gut) brennt | emotional, stark untersetzt, bei jemandem um etwas bitten |
Where the eye mixes fachen and flehen
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. fachen (CVCCVC) and flehen (CCVCVC) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.
Why the eye confuses fachen with flehen
A purely visual mix-up. fachen ([ˈfaxn̩]) and flehen ([ˈfleːən]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 69652, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
fachen is recorded at frequency rank #29,116, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈfaxn̩]. flehen is at rank #40,536, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈfleːən].
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 69652, this pair ranks #470,036 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of fachen vs flehen
Shared letters: efhn. Private to "fachen": ac. Private to "flehen": l.
"fachen" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC · "flehen" · 6 letters · shape CCVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "fachen" and "flehen" mean the same thing in a sentence?
In ordinary German text, does "fachen" or "flehen" show up more?
What to do next
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "fachen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "flehen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #470,036 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "fachen" and "flehen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "flehen vs fleht". 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 #470,036 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.