fielenvsfliehenWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#5,081
“fielen” frequency rank
#6,060
“fliehen” frequency rank
11141
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature fielen fliehen
Definition 1. Person Plural Indikativ Präteritum Aktiv des Verbs fallen schnelles Verlassen eines Ortes beispielsweise aufgrund befürchteter Gefahr

Where the eye mixes fielen and fliehen

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence.

6 ch
fielen
7 ch
fliehen

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. fielen ([ˈfiːlən]) and fliehen ([ˈfliːən]) 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 11141, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

fielen is recorded at frequency rank #5,081, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈfiːlən]. fliehen is at rank #6,060, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈfliːən].

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 11141, this pair ranks #1,971,482 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of fielen vs fliehen

Shared letters: efiln. Private to "fielen": -. Private to "fliehen": h.

"fielen" · 6 letters · shape CVVCVC  ·  "fliehen" · 7 letters · shape CCVVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • fielenffielen · fieeln · fielenn · fiellen · fielne · fileen · ifelen
  • fliehenffliehen · filehen · fleihen · flieehn · fliehenn · fliehhen · fliehne · fliheen

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "fielen" and "fliehen" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ˈfiːlən] versus [ˈfliːən]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "fielen" or "fliehen"?
"fielen" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #5,081 in our German list, against #6,060 for "fliehen". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list