flervsfliegConfusable pair

Quick tell: fler is a adjective, flieg is a verb, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“fler” is an adjective and “flieg” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#32,036
“fler” frequency rank
#25,550
“flieg” frequency rank
57586
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature fler flieg
Definition mehr, eine größere Anzahl (als) 2. Person Singular Imperativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs fliegen

Where the eye mixes fler and flieg

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

4 ch
fler
5 ch
flieg

Why the eye confuses fler with flieg

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: fler is [ˈfleːr] while flieg is [fliːk]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (adjective vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 57586, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

fler is recorded at frequency rank #32,036, classified as anadj, pronounced [ˈfleːr]. flieg is at rank #25,550, tagged as averb, pronounced [fliːk].

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 57586, this pair ranks #895,729 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of fler vs flieg

Shared letters: efl. Private to "fler": r. Private to "flieg": gi.

"fler" · 4 letters · shape CCVC  ·  "flieg" · 5 letters · shape CCVVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • flerfelr · ffler · flerr · fller · flre · lfer
  • fliegfflieg · fileg · fleig · fliegg · flige · fllieg · lfieg

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "fler" and "flieg" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "fler" is an adjective and "flieg" a verb, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Frequency check: "fler" vs "flieg" - which ranks higher?
"flieg" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #25,550 in our German list, against #32,036 for "fler". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

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

  • Full dictionary entry for "fler" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "flieg" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #895,729 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "fler" and "flieg" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "fler vs Flyern". 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 #895,729 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