FleckvsFluchWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

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

#7,916
“Fleck” frequency rank
#9,192
“Fluch” frequency rank
17108
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Fleck Fluch
Definition Stelle, die verschmutzt (und schlecht^([1])) ist (im Zorn) gesagte Verwünschung

Where the eye mixes Fleck and Fluch

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.

5 ch
Fleck
5 ch
Fluch

Why the eye confuses Fleck with Fluch

A purely visual mix-up. Fleck ([flɛk]) and Fluch ([fluːx]) 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 17108, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Fleck is recorded at frequency rank #7,916, classified as anoun, pronounced [flɛk]. Fluch is at rank #9,192, tagged as anoun, pronounced [fluːx].

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 17108, this pair ranks #1,930,296 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of Fleck vs Fluch

Shared letters: cfl. Private to "Fleck": ek. Private to "Fluch": hu.

"Fleck" · 5 letters · shape CCVCC  ·  "Fluch" · 5 letters · shape CCVCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Fleckfelck · ffleck · flcek · flecck · fleckk · flekc · flleck · lfeck
  • Fluchffluch · flcuh · flluch · flucch · fluchh · fluhc · fulch · lfuch

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "Fleck" for "Fluch" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([flɛk] versus [fluːx]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "Fleck" or "Fluch"?
"Fleck" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #7,916 in our German list, against #9,192 for "Fluch". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.

  • Full dictionary entry for "Fleck" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Fluch" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,930,296 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Fleck" and "Fluch" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Fluch vs Flure". 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 #1,930,296 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