flüstern

[ˈflʏstɐn]

/[ˈflʏstɐn]/ verb

The verdict

“flüstern” is a moderately-common German word, ranked #24,721 in German word frequency and used as a verb.

#24,721
frequency rank, German
8
letters
13
tracked misspellings
8
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - mit gesenkter, leiser Stimme sprechen

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

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

flüstern vs fluten
63% similar
flüstern vs füttern
75% similar
flüstern vs flüstert
88% similar

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

Key facts for flüstern
PropertyValue
Headwordflüstern
LanguageGerman
Part of speechVerb
IPA[ˈflʏstɐn]
Letters8
Frequency rank#24,721
Misspellings tracked13
Confusable pairs8
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “flüstern” sits in German frequency

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right). flüstern lands here:

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

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

The German entry for flüstern is 8 letters long, classified as a verb, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as [ˈflʏstɐn]. Corpus data places it at rank #24,721 in overall German word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. The dominant gloss from Wiktionary reads: "mit gesenkter, leiser Stimme sprechen".

Our generated misspelling index lists 13 likely wrong-spelling variants for flüstern, with forms such as "fflüstern", "fllüstern", and "flsütern". Every one of these variants traces to a single-character edit -- an added or dropped letter, a swapped consonant, or a vowel swap -- the kind of slip a spell-checker is built to catch. It also participates in 8 confusable-pair relationships, "fluten", "füttern", "flüstert", and more, since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.

No explicit etymology string is stored for this entry, 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 flüstern, spelled F-L-Ü-S-T-E-R-N.

Definition

  1. 1
    mit gesenkter, leiser Stimme sprechen

Synonyms

Antonyms

This word in other languages

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as: fflüstern,fllüstern,flsütern,flüsetrn,flüsstern,flüstenr,flüsternn,flüsterrn,flüstren,flüsttern,flütsern,fülstern,lfüstern

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

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

fflüstern1fllüstern1flsütern2flüsetrn2flüsstern1flüstenr2flüsternn1flüsterrn1
Edit distance from "flüstern"

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 "flüstern"?
"flüstern" is spelled F-L-Ü-S-T-E-R-N. The IPA pronunciation is [ˈflʏstɐn].
What does "flüstern" mean?
As a verb, "flüstern" means: mit gesenkter, leiser Stimme sprechen
What words are commonly confused with "flüstern"?
"flüstern" is commonly confused with "fluten", "füttern", "flüstert". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "flüstern"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "flüstern" is [ˈflʏstɐn]. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "flüstern" come from?
"flüstern" 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.

Using “flüstern”

The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.

  • The one correct German spelling is F-L-Ü-S-T-E-R-N - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Say it as [ˈflʏstɐn] (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
  • Don't mix it up with “fluten” - see the side-by-side comparison. flüstern vs fluten
  • Browse more German words and confusable pairs in the same reference. German words
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 FrequencyWords open word-frequency list