Which to use
“feuchten” and “flechten” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #10,653
- “feuchten” frequency rank
- #24,719
- “flechten” frequency rank
- 35372
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | feuchten | flechten |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | etwas feucht machen | (meist) drei Stränge (zum Beispiel Haare oder Bänder) miteinander verschlingen |
Where the eye mixes feuchten and flechten
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence. feuchten (CVVCCCVC) and flechten (CCVCCCVC) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.
Visual trap between feuchten and flechten
A purely visual mix-up. feuchten ([ˈfɔɪ̯çtn̩]) and flechten ([ˈflɛçtn̩]) 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 35372, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
feuchten is recorded at frequency rank #10,653, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈfɔɪ̯çtn̩]. flechten is at rank #24,719, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈflɛçtn̩].
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 35372, this pair ranks #1,641,569 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of feuchten vs flechten
Shared letters: cefhnt. Private to "feuchten": u. Private to "flechten": l.
"feuchten" · 8 letters · shape CVVCCCVC · "flechten" · 8 letters · shape CCVCCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "feuchten" for "flechten" ever safe?
In ordinary German text, does "feuchten" or "flechten" show up more?
Useful next steps
Eye-level mix-up between "feuchten" and "flechten" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "feuchten" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "flechten" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,641,569 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "feuchten" and "flechten" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "flechten vs flehen". 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 #1,641,569 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.