FeigenvsflogenWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: Feigen is a noun, flogen is a verb, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“Feigen” is a noun and “flogen” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#23,121
“Feigen” frequency rank
#14,567
“flogen” frequency rank
37688
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Feigen flogen
Definition Nominativ Plural des Substantivs Feige 1. Person Plural Indikativ Präteritum Aktiv des Verbs fliegen

Where the eye mixes Feigen and flogen

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.

6 ch
Feigen
6 ch
flogen

Visual trap between Feigen and flogen

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: Feigen is [ˈfaɪ̯ɡn̩] while flogen is [floːɡn̩]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 37688, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Feigen is recorded at frequency rank #23,121, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈfaɪ̯ɡn̩]. flogen is at rank #14,567, tagged as averb, pronounced [floːɡn̩].

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 37688, this pair ranks #1,583,647 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of Feigen vs flogen

Shared letters: efgn. Private to "Feigen": i. Private to "flogen": lo.

"Feigen" · 6 letters · shape CVVCVC  ·  "flogen" · 6 letters · shape CCVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Feigenefigen · fegien · feiegn · feigenn · feiggen · feigne · ffeigen · fiegen
  • flogenfflogen · flgoen · fllogen · floegn · flogenn · floggen · flogne · lfogen

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "Feigen" and "flogen" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "Feigen" is a noun and "flogen" a verb, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Frequency check: "Feigen" vs "flogen" - which ranks higher?
"flogen" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #14,567 in our German list, against #23,121 for "Feigen". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.

  • Full dictionary entry for "Feigen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "flogen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,583,647 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Feigen" and "flogen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Feigen vs Felge". 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 #1,583,647 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