flötenvsfülltenWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#21,253
“flöten” frequency rank
#32,541
“füllten” frequency rank
53794
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature flöten füllten
Definition flötenähnliche Töne hervorbringen 1. Person Plural Indikativ Präteritum Aktiv des Verbs füllen

Where the spellings diverge

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

6 ch
flöten
7 ch
füllten

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. flöten ([ˈfløːtn̩]) and füllten ([ˈfʏltn̩]) 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 53794, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

flöten is recorded at frequency rank #21,253, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈfløːtn̩]. füllten is at rank #32,541, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈfʏltn̩].

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 53794, this pair ranks #1,043,985 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of flöten vs füllten

Shared letters: eflnt. Private to "flöten": ö. Private to "füllten": ü.

"flöten" · 6 letters · shape CCVCVC  ·  "füllten" · 7 letters · shape CVCCCVC

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "flöten" and "füllten" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ˈfløːtn̩] versus [ˈfʏltn̩]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "flöten" or "füllten"?
"flöten" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #21,253 in our German list, against #32,541 for "füllten". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list