GeflüchtetenvsgefürchtetenWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: Geflüchteten is a noun, gefürchteten is an adjective, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

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

#18,556
“Geflüchteten” frequency rank
#36,945
“gefürchteten” frequency rank
55501
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Geflüchteten gefürchteten
Definition Genitiv Singular der starken Flexion des Substantivs Geflüchteter Genitiv Singular Maskulinum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs gefürchtet

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set Geflüchteten and gefürchteten apart are highlighted. They share 11 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

12 ch
Geflüchteten
12 ch
gefürchteten

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: Geflüchteten is [ɡəˈflʏçtətn̩] while gefürchteten is [ɡəˈfʏʁçtətn̩]. 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 (noun vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 55501, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Geflüchteten is recorded at frequency rank #18,556, classified as anoun, pronounced [ɡəˈflʏçtətn̩]. gefürchteten is at rank #36,945, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ɡəˈfʏʁçtətn̩].

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 55501, this pair ranks #977,089 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of Geflüchteten vs gefürchteten

Shared letters: cefghntü. Private to "Geflüchteten": l. Private to "gefürchteten": r.

"Geflüchteten" · 12 letters · shape CVCCVCCCVCVC  ·  "gefürchteten" · 12 letters · shape CVCVCCCCVCVC

Frequency comparison

Geflüchteten#18,556
gefürchteten#36,945

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "Geflüchteten" and "gefürchteten" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "Geflüchteten" is a noun and "gefürchteten" an adjective, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "Geflüchteten" or "gefürchteten"?
"Geflüchteten" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #18,556 in our German list, against #36,945 for "gefürchteten". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering Geflüchteten vs gefürchteten

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

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