Which to use
“fing” and “flieg” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #5,167
- “fing” frequency rank
- #25,550
- “flieg” frequency rank
- 30717
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | fing | flieg |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präteritum Aktiv des Verbs fangen | 2. Person Singular Imperativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs fliegen |
Where the eye mixes fing and flieg
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: fing vs flieg
A purely visual mix-up. fing ([fɪŋ]) and flieg ([fliːk]) 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 30717, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
fing is recorded at frequency rank #5,167, classified as averb, pronounced [fɪŋ]. flieg is at rank #25,550, tagged as averb, pronounced [fliːk].
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 30717, this pair ranks #1,742,438 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of fing vs flieg
Shared letters: fgi. Private to "fing": n. Private to "flieg": el.
"fing" · 4 letters · shape CVCC · "flieg" · 5 letters · shape CCVVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "fing" for "flieg" ever safe?
Which is more common, "fing" or "flieg"?
Useful next steps
Eye-level mix-up between "fing" and "flieg" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "fing" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "flieg" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,742,438 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "fing" and "flieg" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "flieg vs flint". 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 #1,742,438 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.