FluchtvsFurchtWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#2,392
“Flucht” frequency rank
#8,055
“Furcht” frequency rank
10447
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Flucht Furcht
Definition rasches Entfliehen von einer Sache, die Gefahr oder Unglück verheißt Emotion angesichts drohender Gefahr

Where the spellings diverge

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

6 ch
Flucht
6 ch
Furcht

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. Flucht ([flʊxt]) and Furcht ([fʊʁçt]) 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 10447, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Flucht is recorded at frequency rank #2,392, classified as anoun, pronounced [flʊxt]. Furcht is at rank #8,055, tagged as anoun, pronounced [fʊʁçt].

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 10447, this pair ranks #1,975,086 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of Flucht vs Furcht

Shared letters: cfhtu. Private to "Flucht": l. Private to "Furcht": r.

"Flucht" · 6 letters · shape CCVCCC  ·  "Furcht" · 6 letters · shape CVCCCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Fluchtfflucht · flcuht · fllucht · fluccht · fluchht · fluchtt · flucth · fluhct
  • Furchtffurcht · fucrht · furccht · furchht · furchtt · furcth · furhct · furrcht

Frequency comparison

Flucht#2,392
Furcht#8,055

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "Flucht" and "Furcht" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([flʊxt] versus [fʊʁçt]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "Flucht" or "Furcht"?
"Flucht" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #2,392 in our German list, against #8,055 for "Furcht". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering Flucht vs Furcht

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 “Flucht” 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