Which to use
“pflegen” and “plagen” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #5,872
- “pflegen” frequency rank
- #24,074
- “plagen” frequency rank
- 29946
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | pflegen | plagen |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | sich sorgend um jemanden oder etwas kümmern (häufig um einen anvertrauten Menschen) | sich großen Anstrengungen unterziehen |
Where the eye mixes pflegen and plagen
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. pflegen runs 7 letters (CCCVCVC) against plagen's 6 (CCVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses pflegen with plagen
A purely visual mix-up. pflegen ([ˈp͡fleːɡn̩]) and plagen ([ˈplaːɡn̩]) 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 29946, 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]. plagen is at rank #24,074, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈplaːɡn̩].
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 29946, this pair ranks #1,757,260 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of pflegen vs plagen
Shared letters: eglnp. Private to "pflegen": f. Private to "plagen": a.
"pflegen" · 7 letters · shape CCCVCVC · "plagen" · 6 letters · shape CCVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "pflegen" and "plagen" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Which is more common, "pflegen" or "plagen"?
After this comparison
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "pflegen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "plagen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,757,260 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "pflegen" and "plagen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "plagen vs Planken". 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 #1,757,260 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.