flüchtigenvsFlüchtlingenTell them apart

Quick tell: flüchtigen is a adjective, Flüchtlingen is a noun, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“flüchtigen” is an adjective and “Flüchtlingen” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#17,578
“flüchtigen” frequency rank
#4,037
“Flüchtlingen” frequency rank
21615
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature flüchtigen Flüchtlingen
Definition Genitiv Singular Maskulinum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs flüchtig Dativ Plural des Substantivs Flüchtling

Where the eye mixes flüchtigen and Flüchtlingen

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 10 letters in sequence. flüchtigen runs 10 letters (CCVCCCVCVC) against Flüchtlingen's 12 (CCVCCCCVCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

10 ch
flüchtigen
12 ch
Flüchtlingen

Visual trap between flüchtigen and Flüchtlingen

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: flüchtigen is [ˈflʏçtɪɡn̩] while Flüchtlingen is [ˈflʏçtlɪŋən]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 2 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (adjective vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 21615, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

flüchtigen is recorded at frequency rank #17,578, classified as anadj, pronounced [ˈflʏçtɪɡn̩]. Flüchtlingen is at rank #4,037, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈflʏçtlɪŋən].

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 21615, this pair ranks #1,884,175 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of flüchtigen vs Flüchtlingen

Shared letters: cefghilntü. Private to "flüchtigen": -. Private to "Flüchtlingen": -.

"flüchtigen" · 10 letters · shape CCVCCCVCVC  ·  "Flüchtlingen" · 12 letters · shape CCVCCCCVCCVC

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "flüchtigen" and "Flüchtlingen" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "flüchtigen" is an adjective and "Flüchtlingen" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
In ordinary German text, does "flüchtigen" or "Flüchtlingen" show up more?
"Flüchtlingen" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #4,037 in our German list, against #17,578 for "flüchtigen". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Useful next steps

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

  • Full dictionary entry for "flüchtigen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Flüchtlingen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,884,175 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "flüchtigen" and "Flüchtlingen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "flüchtigen vs flüchtiger". Nearby pair

Confusion rank #1,884,175 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