Which to use
“pflegte” and “pflegten” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #16,513
- “pflegte” frequency rank
- #43,404
- “pflegten” frequency rank
- 59917
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | pflegte | pflegten |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präteritum Aktiv des Verbs pflegen | 1. Person Plural Indikativ Präteritum Aktiv des Verbs pflegen |
Where the eye mixes pflegte and pflegten
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence. pflegte runs 7 letters (CCCVCCV) against pflegten's 8 (CCCVCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses pflegte with pflegten
A purely visual mix-up. pflegte ([ˈp͡fleːktə]) and pflegten ([ˈp͡fleːktn̩]) 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 extra letter(s) - “pflegte” sits inside “pflegten”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 59917, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
pflegte is recorded at frequency rank #16,513, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈp͡fleːktə]. pflegten is at rank #43,404, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈp͡fleːktn̩].
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 59917, this pair ranks #806,502 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of pflegte vs pflegten
Shared letters: efglpt. Private to "pflegte": -. Private to "pflegten": n.
"pflegte" · 7 letters · shape CCCVCCV · "pflegten" · 8 letters · shape CCCVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "pflegte" and "pflegten" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "pflegte" or "pflegten"?
After this comparison
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "pflegte" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "pflegten" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #806,502 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "pflegte" and "pflegten" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "pflegten 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 #806,502 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.