Which to use
“pflegen” and “pflegt” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #5,872
- “pflegen” frequency rank
- #10,339
- “pflegt” frequency rank
- 16211
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | pflegen | pflegt |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | sich sorgend um jemanden oder etwas kümmern (häufig um einen anvertrauten Menschen) | 3. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs pflegen |
Where the eye mixes pflegen and pflegt
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. pflegen runs 7 letters (CCCVCVC) against pflegt's 6 (CCCVCC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses pflegen with pflegt
A purely visual mix-up. pflegen ([ˈp͡fleːɡn̩]) and pflegt ([p͡fleːkt]) 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 16211, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
pflegen is recorded at frequency rank #5,872, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈp͡fleːɡn̩]. pflegt is at rank #10,339, tagged as averb, pronounced [p͡fleːkt].
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 16211, this pair ranks #1,937,681 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of pflegen vs pflegt
Shared letters: efglp. Private to "pflegen": n. Private to "pflegt": t.
"pflegen" · 7 letters · shape CCCVCVC · "pflegt" · 6 letters · shape CCCVCC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "pflegen" for "pflegt" ever safe?
Which is more common, "pflegen" or "pflegt"?
Useful next steps
Eye-level mix-up between "pflegen" and "pflegt" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "pflegen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "pflegt" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,937,681 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "pflegen" and "pflegt" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "pflegen vs pflügen". 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 #1,937,681 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.