FlaggevsFlankeTell them apart

Which to use

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

#4,700
“Flagge” frequency rank
#12,912
“Flanke” frequency rank
17612
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Flagge Flanke
Definition an einer Leine befestigte Fahne als Hoheits- oder Ehrenzeichen eines Staates eine Seite des Körpers vierbeiniger Säugetiere

Where the eye mixes Flagge and Flanke

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.

6 ch
Flagge
6 ch
Flanke

Visual trap between Flagge and Flanke

A purely visual mix-up. Flagge ([ˈflaɡə]) and Flanke ([ˈflaŋkə]) 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 17612, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Flagge is recorded at frequency rank #4,700, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈflaɡə]. Flanke is at rank #12,912, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈflaŋkə].

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 17612, this pair ranks #1,925,851 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of Flagge vs Flanke

Shared letters: aefl. Private to "Flagge": g. Private to "Flanke": kn.

"Flagge" · 6 letters · shape CCVCCV  ·  "Flanke" · 6 letters · shape CCVCCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Flaggefalgge · fflagge · flage · flageg · flgage · fllagge · lfagge
  • Flankefalnke · fflanke · flakne · flanek · flankke · flannke · fllanke · flnake

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "Flagge" for "Flanke" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([ˈflaɡə] versus [ˈflaŋkə]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "Flagge" or "Flanke"?
"Flagge" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #4,700 in our German list, against #12,912 for "Flanke". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.

  • Full dictionary entry for "Flagge" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Flanke" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,925,851 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Flagge" and "Flanke" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "flame vs Flanke". 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 #1,925,851 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list