flüchtetevsflüchtigeWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: flüchtete is a verb, flüchtige is an adjective, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“flüchtete” is a verb and “flüchtige” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#18,243
“flüchtete” frequency rank
#23,129
“flüchtige” frequency rank
41372
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature flüchtete flüchtige
Definition 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präteritum Aktiv des Verbs flüchten Nominativ Singular Femininum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs flüchtig

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set flüchtete and flüchtige apart are highlighted. They share 7 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

9 ch
flüchtete
9 ch
flüchtige

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: flüchtete is [ˈflʏçtətə] while flüchtige is [ˈflʏçtɪɡə]. 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 adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 41372, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

flüchtete is recorded at frequency rank #18,243, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈflʏçtətə]. flüchtige is at rank #23,129, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ˈflʏçtɪɡə].

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 41372, this pair ranks #1,481,396 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of flüchtete vs flüchtige

Shared letters: cefhltü. Private to "flüchtete": -. Private to "flüchtige": gi.

"flüchtete" · 9 letters · shape CCVCCCVCV  ·  "flüchtige" · 9 letters · shape CCVCCCVCV

Frequency comparison

flüchtete#18,243
flüchtige#23,129

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "flüchtete" and "flüchtige" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "flüchtete" is a verb and "flüchtige" an adjective, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "flüchtete" or "flüchtige"?
"flüchtete" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #18,243 in our German list, against #23,129 for "flüchtige". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering flüchtete vs flüchtige

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

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