Which to use
“Pflege” is a noun and “pflegen” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #2,676
- “Pflege” frequency rank
- #5,872
- “pflegen” frequency rank
- 8548
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | Pflege | pflegen |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Fürsorge, Betreuung und Versorgung von Menschen oder Tieren, die gewisse Hilfe benötigen | sich sorgend um jemanden oder etwas kümmern (häufig um einen anvertrauten Menschen) |
Where the spellings diverge
Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set Pflege and pflegen apart are highlighted. They share 6 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: Pflege is [ˈp͡fleːɡə] while pflegen is [ˈp͡fleːɡn̩]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 extra letter(s) - “Pflege” sits inside “pflegen”, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 8548, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
Pflege is recorded at frequency rank #2,676, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈp͡fleːɡə]. pflegen is at rank #5,872, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈp͡fleːɡn̩].
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 8548, this pair ranks #1,983,849 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of Pflege vs pflegen
Shared letters: efglp. Private to "Pflege": -. Private to "pflegen": n.
"Pflege" · 6 letters · shape CCCVCV · "pflegen" · 7 letters · shape CCCVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequency comparison
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "Pflege" and "pflegen" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "Pflege" or "pflegen"?
Remembering Pflege vs pflegen
The fastest way to pick the right one every time.
- Check the role first: if you need a noun, it's “Pflege”; for a verb, it's “pflegen”.
- See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “Pflege” entry
- Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable