flachvsflacherWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#5,830
“flach” frequency rank
#21,599
“flacher” frequency rank
27429
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature flach flacher
Definition ohne größere Erhebungen und Vertiefungen Nominativ Singular Maskulinum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs flach

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set flach and flacher apart are highlighted. They share 5 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

5 ch
flach
7 ch
flacher

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. flach ([flax]) and flacher ([ˈflaxɐ]) 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 2 extra letter(s) - “flach” sits inside “flacher”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 27429, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

flach is recorded at frequency rank #5,830, classified as anadj, pronounced [flax]. flacher is at rank #21,599, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ˈflaxɐ].

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 27429, this pair ranks #1,801,923 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of flach vs flacher

Shared letters: acfhl. Private to "flach": -. Private to "flacher": er.

"flach" · 5 letters · shape CCVCC  ·  "flacher" · 7 letters · shape CCVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • flachfalch · fflach · flacch · flachh · flahc · flcah · fllach · lfach
  • flacherfalcher · fflacher · flaccher · flacehr · flacherr · flachher · flachre · flahcer

Frequency comparison

flach#5,830
flacher#21,599

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "flach" and "flacher" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([flax] versus [ˈflaxɐ]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "flach" or "flacher"?
"flach" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #5,830 in our German list, against #21,599 for "flacher". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering flach vs flacher

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Read both glosses above and match the meaning you intend, only context separates this pair.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “flach” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list