fliesenvsFlüssenWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: fliesen is a verb, Flüssen is a noun, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“fliesen” is a verb and “Flüssen” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#20,920
“fliesen” frequency rank
#18,244
“Flüssen” frequency rank
39164
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature fliesen Flüssen
Definition Fliesen verlegen Dativ Plural des Substantivs Fluss

Where the spellings diverge

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

7 ch
fliesen
7 ch
Flüssen

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: fliesen is [ˈfliːzn̩] while Flüssen is [ˈflʏsn̩]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 39164, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

fliesen is recorded at frequency rank #20,920, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈfliːzn̩]. Flüssen is at rank #18,244, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈflʏsn̩].

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 39164, this pair ranks #1,544,345 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of fliesen vs Flüssen

Shared letters: eflns. Private to "fliesen": i. Private to "Flüssen": ü.

"fliesen" · 7 letters · shape CCVVCVC  ·  "Flüssen" · 7 letters · shape CCVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • fliesenffliesen · filesen · fleisen · flieesn · fliesenn · fliesne · fliessen · fliseen

Frequency comparison

fliesen#20,920
Flüssen#18,244

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "fliesen" and "Flüssen" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "fliesen" is a verb and "Flüssen" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "fliesen" or "Flüssen"?
"Flüssen" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #18,244 in our German list, against #20,920 for "fliesen". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering fliesen vs Flüssen

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a verb, it's “fliesen”; for a noun, it's “Flüssen”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “fliesen” 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