flehen

[ˈfleːən]

/[ˈfleːən]/ verb

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

The verdict

“flehen” has 8 generated spelling variants in the German index at frequency #40,536. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#40,536
frequency rank, German
3,474
“F” headwords
8
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - emotional, stark untersetzt, bei jemandem um etwas bitten

Corpus desk

Index DE-flehen · flehen · German

flehen · rank #40,536 · 8 variants · 20 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #40,536
  • LEN-LONG 6 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
  • VAR-MID 8 variants
  • BOOK-MID 3,474
  • PHOTO-FINISH fiele

Nearest frequency peer: fiele (-1 rank slots)

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Frequency neighbourhood for “flehen”

Lower corpus rank = more everyday usage (inverted bar length for readability)

corpus weight

What this shows Bars show where “flehen” sits against the nearest ranked German headwords in the FrequencyWords band, not a reprint of letter-browse containment.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

flehen vs Flöhe
50% similar
flehen vs fleht
67% similar
flehen vs freuen
67% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for flehen
PropertyValue
Headwordflehen
LanguageGerman
Part of speechVerb
IPA[ˈfleːən]
Letters6
Frequency rank#40,536
Misspellings tracked8
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Wo “flehen” in der deutschen Häufigkeit sitzt

Diese Skala geht vom Kern des Alltagdeutschen (links) bis zum seltenen Langschwanz (rechts).flehenliegt hier:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Die Skala ist logarithmisch (jeder Tick ≈ 10× seltener). In derselben Seltenheitsbandbreite liegen „fiele“ (#40,535), „flowers“ (#40,537), „Fluktuation“ (#40,538). Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 8 spelling variants around flehen (IPA [ˈfleːən]), averb. Corpus frequency is #40,536 among 3,474 “F” headwords. Wiktionary lists 2 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 8 likely wrong-spelling variants for flehen, with forms such as "fflehen", "fleehn", and "flehenn". Each of these forms differs from the correct spelling by one small edit: a doubled letter, a dropped silent letter, or a substituted vowel. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "Flöhe", "fleht", "freuen", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

No documented word history exists for this headword, so its spelling is easiest explained by how it's pronounced rather than where it came from. The correct German form is flehen, spelled F-L-E-H-E-N.

Definition

  1. 1
    emotional, stark untersetzt, bei jemandem um etwas bitten
  2. 2
    zu jemandem oder etwas beten

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how flehen appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. Der Angeklagte flehte den Richten an, um sein Leben zu retten
  2. Die Mutter flehte in der Kirche, um das Leben der Soldaten und ihres Sohnes zu retten.

Synonyms

anflehenbeschwörenbettelndemütigeindringlich bittenerbettelninständigkniefällig bittenerflehenwinselnheischenbetenGott anrufen

Antonyms

fordern

This word in other languages

implore(English)implorar(Español)implorer(Français)implorar(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • fflehen
  • fleehn
  • flehenn
  • flehhen
  • flehne
  • flheen
  • fllehen
  • lfehen

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of flehen - expressed in single-character edits (insert, delete, or swap one letter). Bigger bars stand out at a glance; a one-edit slip is the hardest to catch.

fflehen1fleehn2flehenn1flehhen1flehne2flheen2fllehen1lfehen2
Edit distance from "flehen"

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 German corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "flehen"?
"flehen" is spelled F-L-E-H-E-N. The IPA pronunciation is [ˈfleːən].
What does "flehen" mean?
As a verb, "flehen" means: emotional, stark untersetzt, bei jemandem um etwas bitten
What words are commonly confused with "flehen"?
"flehen" is commonly confused with "Flöhe", "fleht", "freuen". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "flehen"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "flehen" is [ˈfleːən]. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "flehen" come from?
"flehen" is a German word. PlainSpell's reference spans five languages -- English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German -- with definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data for each.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar German words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "flehen", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked German headwords with 6 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

Geröll#40,559Eleven#40,499ekelig#40,498Gravur#40,576

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (8 here; floor ≥5).

füttere8 variantsHasch8 variantscrews8 variantsJesaja8 variants

What to do next

You've looked up "flehen". Here's where to go from here.

  • "flehen" maps to 20 confusable pairs in this vintage; the highest-scored is "Flöhe". View pair
  • 8 edit-distance misspelling variants are generated for spell-check research on this headword. See variants
  • Usage frequency rank #40,536 among German headwords in this corpus. Corpus statistics
  • Browse more German words in the "F" letter cohort. F–Z browse

PlainSpell is a reference corpus, not spelling advice. Verify unusual forms in context.

Data Source

Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list