pflegen

[ˈp͡fleːɡn̩]

/[ˈp͡fleːɡn̩]/ verb

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

The verdict

“pflegen” has 11 generated spelling variants in the German index at frequency #5,872. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#5,872
frequency rank, German
3,409
“P” headwords
11
tracked misspellings
9
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - sich sorgend um jemanden oder etwas kümmern (häufig um einen anvertrauten Menschen)

Corpus desk

Index DE-pflegen · pflegen · German

pflegen · rank #5,872 · 11 variants · 9 confusables

  • FREQ-COMMON #5,872
  • LEN-LONG 7 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-MID 9 pairs
  • VAR-MID 11 variants
  • BOOK-MID 3,409
  • PHOTO-FINISH Paradies

Nearest frequency peer: Paradies (-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.

Rang-Peers am Tippfehler-Magneten „pflegen“

Gleiche Seltenheitsbandbreite: nützlich, wenn ein Tippfehler auf ein Peer-Lemma trifft

corpus weight

What this shows „pflegen“ sitzt unter diesen FrequencyWords-Peers; die Tippfehlertiefe steht separat im Edit-Distance-Chart.

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).

pflegen vs pflegt
71% similar
pflegen vs plagen
71% similar
pflegen vs Pfleger
71% similar

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

Key facts for pflegen
PropertyValue
Headwordpflegen
LanguageGerman
Part of speechVerb
IPA[ˈp͡fleːɡn̩]
Letters7
Frequency rank#5,872
Misspellings tracked11
Confusable pairs9
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Häufigkeitslage von Tippfehler-Magnet „pflegen“

Von links nach rechts: die wenigen Träger des Alltags, dann der lange Schwanz kaum gebrauchter Formen.pflegenliegt hier neben dem Tippfehler-Druck:

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

Die Ticks laufen logarithmisch; jeder ist rund zehnmal seltener. Peers derselben Seltenheitsbandbreite: „Paradies“ (#5,871), „Ralf“ (#5,873), „nachträglich“ (#5,870). Unter 3,409 „P“-Lemmata liegt „pflegen“ bei #5,872. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 11 spelling variants around pflegen (IPA [ˈp͡fleːɡn̩]), averb. Corpus frequency is #5,872 among 3,409 “P” headwords. Wiktionary lists 7 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 11 likely wrong-spelling variants for pflegen, with forms such as "fplegen", "pfelgen", and "pfflegen". 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 9 confusable-pair relationships, "pflegt", "plagen", "Pfleger", and more, since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.

No borrowing history is documented for this entry, so its spelling is easiest to reason about phoneme by phoneme, absent a documented history. The correct German form is pflegen, spelled P-F-L-E-G-E-N.

Definition

  1. 1
    sich sorgend um jemanden oder etwas kümmern (häufig um einen anvertrauten Menschen)
  2. 2
    zum Zweck der Erhaltung beziehungsweise Verbesserung eines Zustandes behandeln
  3. 3
    sich aus innerer Neigung (mit etwas) beschäftigen
  4. 4
    auf dem Laufenden halten
  5. 5
    es sich gut gehen lassen, ausruhen
  6. 6
    etwas gewohnheitsmäßig tun
  7. 7
    regelmäßig haben oder tun

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. Er pflegt seine Tante, die seit Weihnachten bei ihm wohnt.
  2. Sie pflegt ihre Nägel.

Antonyms

misshandelnvernachlässigenzerstören

This word in other languages

tend(English)cuidar(Español)soigner(Français)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • fplegen
  • pfelgen
  • pfflegen
  • pfleegn
  • pflegenn
  • pfleggen
  • pflegne
  • pflgeen
  • pfllegen
  • plfegen
  • ppflegen

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of pflegen - 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.

fplegen2pfelgen2pfflegen1pfleegn2pflegenn1pfleggen1pflegne2pflgeen2
Edit distance from "pflegen"

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 "pflegen"?
"pflegen" is spelled P-F-L-E-G-E-N. The IPA pronunciation is [ˈp͡fleːɡn̩].
What does "pflegen" mean?
As a verb, "pflegen" means: sich sorgend um jemanden oder etwas kümmern (häufig um einen anvertrauten Menschen)
What words are commonly confused with "pflegen"?
"pflegen" is commonly confused with "pflegt", "plagen", "Pfleger". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "pflegen"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "pflegen" is [ˈp͡fleːɡn̩]. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "pflegen" come from?
"pflegen" 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 "pflegen", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

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

rechnet#5,874Malerei#5,869Schwert#5,877starben#5,883

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (11 here; floor ≥5).

Teenager11 variantsversagt11 variantswundert11 variantsZahlung11 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list