Which to use
“Pflug” is a noun and “pflügen” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #33,226
- “Pflug” frequency rank
- #48,382
- “pflügen” frequency rank
- 81608
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | Pflug | pflügen |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | landwirtschaftliches Gerät zum Auflockern und Wenden des Ackerbodens | mit einem Pflug tätig sein |
Where the eye mixes Pflug and pflügen
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. Pflug runs 5 letters (CCCVC) against pflügen's 7 (CCCVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Look-alike desk: Pflug vs pflügen
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: Pflug is [p͡fluːk] while pflügen is [ˈp͡flyːɡn̩]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 2 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 81608, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
Pflug is recorded at frequency rank #33,226, classified as anoun, pronounced [p͡fluːk]. pflügen is at rank #48,382, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈp͡flyːɡn̩].
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 81608, this pair ranks #172,517 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of Pflug vs pflügen
Shared letters: fglp. Private to "Pflug": u. Private to "pflügen": enü.
"Pflug" · 5 letters · shape CCCVC · "pflügen" · 7 letters · shape CCCVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- Pflug ← fplug · pfflug · pflgu · pfllug · pflugg · pfulg · plfug · ppflug
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "Pflug" and "pflügen" be used interchangeably?
In ordinary German text, does "Pflug" or "pflügen" show up more?
Useful next steps
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "Pflug" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "pflügen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #172,517 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "Pflug" and "pflügen" 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 #172,517 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.