Which to use
“fliegen” is a verb and “fliegende” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #1,845
- “fliegen” frequency rank
- #16,147
- “fliegende” frequency rank
- 17992
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | fliegen | fliegende |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | sich ohne Bodenkontakt in der Luft, im freien Raum fortbewegen (mithilfe von Flügeln, eines Antriebs, eines Flugzeugs oder Ähnlichem) | Nominativ Singular Femininum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs fliegend |
Where the spellings diverge
Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set fliegen and fliegende apart are highlighted. They share 7 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: fliegen is [ˈfliːɡn̩] while fliegende is [ˈfliːɡn̩də]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 2 extra letter(s) - “fliegen” sits inside “fliegende”, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 17992, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
fliegen is recorded at frequency rank #1,845, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈfliːɡn̩]. fliegende is at rank #16,147, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ˈfliːɡn̩də].
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 17992, this pair ranks #1,922,398 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of fliegen vs fliegende
Shared letters: efgiln. Private to "fliegen": -. Private to "fliegende": d.
"fliegen" · 7 letters · shape CCVVCVC · "fliegende" · 9 letters · shape CCVVCVCCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequency comparison
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "fliegen" and "fliegende" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "fliegen" or "fliegende"?
Remembering fliegen vs fliegende
The fastest way to pick the right one every time.
- Check the role first: if you need a verb, it's “fliegen”; for an adjective, it's “fliegende”.
- See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “fliegen” entry
- Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable