Which to use
“flach” is an adjective and “flash” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #5,830
- “flach” frequency rank
- #8,560
- “flash” frequency rank
- 14390
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | flach | flash |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | ohne größere Erhebungen und Vertiefungen | 2. Person Singular Imperativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs flashen |
Where the eye mixes flach and flash
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses flach with flash
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: flach is [flax] while flash is [flɛʃ]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by a single letter - c in “flach” becomes s in “flash”, and the parts of speech differ too (adjective vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 14390, 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]. flash is at rank #8,560, tagged as averb, pronounced [flɛʃ].
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 14390, this pair ranks #1,951,534 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of flach vs flash
Shared letters: afhl. Private to "flach": c. Private to "flash": s.
"flach" · 5 letters · shape CCVCC · "flash" · 5 letters · shape CCVCC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "flach" and "flash" be used interchangeably?
In ordinary German text, does "flach" or "flash" show up more?
After this comparison
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "flach" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "flash" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,951,534 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "flach" and "flash" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "flame vs flash". 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 #1,951,534 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.