geflohenvsgeflossenWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

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

#11,057
“geflohen” frequency rank
#23,527
“geflossen” frequency rank
34584
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature geflohen geflossen
Definition Partizip Perfekt des Verbs fliehen Partizip Perfekt des Verbs fließen

Where the eye mixes geflohen and geflossen

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence. geflohen runs 8 letters (CVCCVCVC) against geflossen's 9 (CVCCVCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

8 ch
geflohen
9 ch
geflossen

Look-alike desk: geflohen vs geflossen

A purely visual mix-up. geflohen ([ɡəˈfloːən]) and geflossen ([ɡəˈflɔsn̩]) 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 34584, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

geflohen is recorded at frequency rank #11,057, classified as averb, pronounced [ɡəˈfloːən]. geflossen is at rank #23,527, tagged as averb, pronounced [ɡəˈflɔsn̩].

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 34584, this pair ranks #1,659,936 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of geflohen vs geflossen

Shared letters: efglno. Private to "geflohen": h. Private to "geflossen": s.

"geflohen" · 8 letters · shape CVCCVCVC  ·  "geflossen" · 9 letters · shape CVCCVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • geflohen ← egflohen · gefflohen · geflhoen · gefllohen · gefloehn · geflohenn · geflohhen · geflohne
  • geflossen ← egflossen · gefflossen · gefllossen · geflosen · geflosesn · geflossenn · geflossne · gefloßen

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "geflohen" for "geflossen" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([ɡəˈfloːən] versus [ɡəˈflɔsn̩]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "geflohen" or "geflossen"?
"geflohen" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #11,057 in our German list, against #23,527 for "geflossen". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Useful next steps

Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.

  • Full dictionary entry for "geflohen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "geflossen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,659,936 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "geflohen" and "geflossen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "geflohen vs Geologen". 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 #1,659,936 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