flehenvsflötenWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#40,536
“flehen” frequency rank
#21,253
“flöten” frequency rank
61789
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature flehen flöten
Definition emotional, stark untersetzt, bei jemandem um etwas bitten flötenähnliche Töne hervorbringen

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set flehen and flöten apart are highlighted. They share 4 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

6 ch
flehen
6 ch
flöten

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. flehen ([ˈfleːən]) and flöten ([ˈfløːtn̩]) 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 61789, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

flehen is recorded at frequency rank #40,536, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈfleːən]. flöten is at rank #21,253, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈfløːtn̩].

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 61789, this pair ranks #736,648 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of flehen vs flöten

Shared letters: efln. Private to "flehen": h. Private to "flöten": .

"flehen" · 6 letters · shape CCVCVC  ·  "flöten" · 6 letters · shape CCVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • flehenfflehen · fleehn · flehenn · flehhen · flehne · flheen · fllehen · lfehen

Frequency comparison

flehen#40,536
flöten#21,253

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "flehen" and "flöten" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ˈfleːən] versus [ˈfløːtn̩]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "flehen" or "flöten"?
"flöten" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #21,253 in our German list, against #40,536 for "flehen". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering flehen vs flöten

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 “flehen” 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