fliegen

[ˈfliːɡn̩]

/[ˈfliːɡn̩]/ verb

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

The verdict

“fliegen” has 10 generated spelling variants in the German index at frequency #1,845. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#1,845
frequency rank, German
3,474
“F” headwords
10
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - sich ohne Bodenkontakt in der Luft, im freien Raum fortbewegen (mithilfe von Flügeln, eines Antriebs, eines Flugzeugs oder Ähnlichem)

Corpus desk

Index DE-fliegen · fliegen · German

fliegen · rank #1,845 · 10 variants · 20 confusables

  • FREQ-COMMON #1,845
  • LEN-LONG 7 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
  • VAR-MID 10 variants
  • BOOK-MID 3,474
  • PHOTO-FINISH Fleisch

Nearest frequency peer: Fleisch (-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 “fliegen”

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

corpus weight

What this shows Bars show where “fliegen” 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).

fliegen vs fliegt
71% similar
fliegen vs flogen
71% similar
fliegen vs Flügen
57% similar

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

Key facts for fliegen
PropertyValue
Headwordfliegen
LanguageGerman
Part of speechVerb
IPA[ˈfliːɡn̩]
Letters7
Frequency rank#1,845
Misspellings tracked10
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “fliegen” sits in German frequency

Word frequency stretches from the small set of words we reach for constantly (left) out to the long tail barely used once in a while (right).fliegen lands here:

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

The axis is logarithmic, with each marked tick roughly ten times rarer than the last. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 10 spelling variants around fliegen (IPA [ˈfliːɡn̩]), averb. Corpus frequency is #1,845 among 3,474 “F” headwords. Wiktionary lists 18 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 10 likely wrong-spelling variants for fliegen, with forms such as "ffliegen", "filegen", and "fleigen". Each variant is a distinct typo pattern an edit-distance generator flags, typically a doubled-consonant error, a silent-letter drop, or a vowel substitution. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "fliegt", "flogen", "Flügen", 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 spelling patterns must be inferred from the word's phoneme-to-grapheme mapping rather than from a documented borrowing chain. The correct German form is fliegen, spelled F-L-I-E-G-E-N.

Definition

  1. 1
    sich ohne Bodenkontakt in der Luft, im freien Raum fortbewegen (mithilfe von Flügeln, eines Antriebs, eines Flugzeugs oder Ähnlichem)
  2. 2
    (als Pilot) ein Luft- oder Raumfahrzeug führen
  3. 3
    in einem Luft- oder Raumfahrzeug reisen
  4. 4
    mit einem Luftfahrzeug an einen anderen Ort bringen, befördern
  5. 5
    bestimmte Eigenschaften im Fliegen aufweisen
  6. 6
    in bestimmter Weise möglich, zu fliegen
  7. 7
    etwas im Fliegen durchführen
  8. 8
    eine bestimmte Strecke fliegen
  9. 9
    sich zitternd bewegen
  10. 10
    eine große Schnelligkeit aufweisen
  11. 11
    durch eine stoßende Kraft (wie etwa Wind) irgendwohin bewegt werden
  12. 12
    sich besonders schnell (an einen bestimmten Ort) bewegen
  13. 13
    sich im Winde bewegen, hin und her wehen
  14. 14
    (irgendwohin) geworfen, geschleudert werden
  15. 15
    nach unten stürzen, fallen
  16. 16
    von irgendwo (plötzlich) verwiesen oder entlassen werden
  17. 17
    eine Prüfung nicht bestehen; durchfallen
  18. 18
    von jemandem oder etwas besonders begeistert sein; ein besonderes Interesse für jemanden oder etwas zeigen

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. Ein Adler kann fliegen, ein Pinguin kann nicht fliegen.
  2. Wohin fliegt der Schmetterling?

Antonyms

abstürzenfahrengehenlandenlaufenliegenkrabbelnkriechenschwimmenstehenwandern

This word in other languages

fly(English)volar(Español)voler(Français)voar(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • ffliegen
  • filegen
  • fleigen
  • flieegn
  • fliegenn
  • flieggen
  • fliegne
  • fligeen
  • flliegen
  • lfiegen

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of fliegen - measured in single-character edits (insert, delete, or substitute a letter). Larger bars are easier to catch; one-edit slips are the sneakiest.

ffliegen1filegen2fleigen2flieegn2fliegenn1flieggen1fliegne2fligeen2
Edit distance from "fliegen"

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.

PlainSpell is rendered directly from structured Wiktionary extracts and open word-frequency lists, no number is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of September 3, 2026. Primary sources: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) and FrequencyWords.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "fliegen"?
"fliegen" is spelled F-L-I-E-G-E-N. The IPA pronunciation is [ˈfliːɡn̩].
What does "fliegen" mean?
As a verb, "fliegen" means: sich ohne Bodenkontakt in der Luft, im freien Raum fortbewegen (mithilfe von Flügeln, eines Antriebs, eines Flugzeugs oder Ähnlichem)
What words are commonly confused with "fliegen"?
"fliegen" is commonly confused with "fliegt", "flogen", "Flügen". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "fliegen"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "fliegen" is [ˈfliːɡn̩]. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "fliegen" come from?
"fliegen" is a German word. PlainSpell covers definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data across English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German.
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 "fliegen", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked German headwords with 7 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

Fleisch#1,844besitzt#1,840quellen#1,858standen#1,826

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (10 here; floor ≥5).

Bekannte10 variantssteckt10 variantsspielte10 variantsSpanien10 variants

What to do next

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

  • "fliegen" maps to 20 confusable pairs in this vintage; the highest-scored is "fliegt". View pair
  • 10 edit-distance misspelling variants are generated for spell-check research on this headword. See variants
  • Usage frequency rank #1,845 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