fliehenvsfrierenWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#6,060
“fliehen” frequency rank
#23,522
“frieren” frequency rank
29582
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature fliehen frieren
Definition schnelles Verlassen eines Ortes beispielsweise aufgrund befürchteter Gefahr Kälte empfinden, wegen der Kälte sich unwohl fühlen, niedrige Temperaturen fühlen

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set fliehen and frieren apart are highlighted. They share 5 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

7 ch
fliehen
7 ch
frieren

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. fliehen ([ˈfliːən]) and frieren ([ˈfʁiːʁən]) 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 29582, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

fliehen is recorded at frequency rank #6,060, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈfliːən]. frieren is at rank #23,522, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈfʁiːʁən].

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 29582, this pair ranks #1,764,155 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of fliehen vs frieren

Shared letters: efin. Private to "fliehen": hl. Private to "frieren": r.

"fliehen" · 7 letters · shape CCVVCVC  ·  "frieren" · 7 letters · shape CCVVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • fliehenffliehen · filehen · fleihen · flieehn · fliehenn · fliehhen · fliehne · fliheen
  • frierenffrieren · fireren · freiren · frieern · frierenn · frierne · frierren · frireen

Frequency comparison

fliehen#6,060
frieren#23,522

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "fliehen" and "frieren" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ˈfliːən] versus [ˈfʁiːʁən]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "fliehen" or "frieren"?
"fliehen" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #6,060 in our German list, against #23,522 for "frieren". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering fliehen vs frieren

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 “fliehen” 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