FlötevsFlotteConfusable pair

Which to use

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

#16,149
“Flöte” frequency rank
#5,946
“Flotte” frequency rank
22095
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Flöte Flotte
Definition ein Blasinstrument, ein Musikinstrument Gruppe mehrerer zusammengehöriger ziviler oder militärischer Schiffe

Where the eye mixes Flöte and Flotte

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. Flöte runs 5 letters (CCVCV) against Flotte's 6 (CCVCCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

5 ch
Flöte
6 ch
Flotte

Why the eye confuses Flöte with Flotte

A purely visual mix-up. Flöte ([ˈfløːtə]) and Flotte ([ˈflɔtə]) 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 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 22095, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Flöte is recorded at frequency rank #16,149, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈfløːtə]. Flotte is at rank #5,946, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈflɔtə].

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 22095, this pair ranks #1,878,387 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of Flöte vs Flotte

Shared letters: eflt. Private to "Flöte": ö. Private to "Flotte": o.

"Flöte" · 5 letters · shape CCVCV  ·  "Flotte" · 6 letters · shape CCVCCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Flotte ← fflotte · fllotte · flote · flotet · fltote · foltte · lfotte

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "Flöte" and "Flotte" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([ˈfløːtə] versus [ˈflɔtə]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "Flöte" vs "Flotte" - which ranks higher?
"Flotte" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #5,946 in our German list, against #16,149 for "Flöte". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

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

  • Full dictionary entry for "Flöte" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Flotte" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,878,387 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Flöte" and "Flotte" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Flöte vs Flure". 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 #1,878,387 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