Which to use
“flieg” and “fliegen” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #25,550
- “flieg” frequency rank
- #1,845
- “fliegen” frequency rank
- 27395
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | flieg | fliegen |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | 2. Person Singular Imperativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs fliegen | sich ohne Bodenkontakt in der Luft, im freien Raum fortbewegen (mithilfe von Flügeln, eines Antriebs, eines Flugzeugs oder Ähnlichem) |
Where the eye mixes flieg and fliegen
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. flieg runs 5 letters (CCVVC) against fliegen's 7 (CCVVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses flieg with fliegen
A purely visual mix-up. flieg ([fliːk]) and fliegen ([ˈfliːɡn̩]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they differ by 2 extra letter(s) - “flieg” sits inside “fliegen”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 27395, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
flieg is recorded at frequency rank #25,550, classified as averb, pronounced [fliːk]. fliegen is at rank #1,845, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈfliːɡn̩].
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 27395, this pair ranks #1,802,462 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of flieg vs fliegen
Shared letters: efgil. Private to "flieg": -. Private to "fliegen": n.
"flieg" · 5 letters · shape CCVVC · "fliegen" · 7 letters · shape CCVVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "flieg" and "fliegen" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Which is more common, "flieg" or "fliegen"?
Useful next steps
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "flieg" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "fliegen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,802,462 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "flieg" and "fliegen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "flieg vs flint". 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 #1,802,462 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.