Which to use
“fegen” and “flehen” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #33,040
- “fegen” frequency rank
- #40,536
- “flehen” frequency rank
- 73576
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | fegen | flehen |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | mit einem Besen entfernen | emotional, stark untersetzt, bei jemandem um etwas bitten |
Where the eye mixes fegen and flehen
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. fegen runs 5 letters (CVCVC) against flehen's 6 (CCVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses fegen with flehen
A purely visual mix-up. fegen ([ˈfeːɡn̩]) 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 differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 73576, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
fegen is recorded at frequency rank #33,040, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈfeːɡn̩]. 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 73576, this pair ranks #356,622 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of fegen vs flehen
Shared letters: efn. Private to "fegen": g. Private to "flehen": hl.
"fegen" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC · "flehen" · 6 letters · shape CCVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "fegen" and "flehen" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "fegen" or "flehen"?
What to do next
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "fegen" 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 #356,622 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "fegen" 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 #356,622 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.