Which to use
“clever” and “cleveren” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #10,061
- “clever” frequency rank
- #48,044
- “cleveren” frequency rank
- 58105
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | clever | cleveren |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | schlau, gewitzt | Genitiv Singular Maskulinum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs clever |
Where the eye mixes clever and cleveren
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. clever runs 6 letters (CCVCVC) against cleveren's 8 (CCVCVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses clever with cleveren
A purely visual mix-up. clever ([ˈklɛvɐ]) and cleveren ([ˈklɛvəʁən]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they differ by 2 extra letter(s) - “clever” sits inside “cleveren”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 58105, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
clever is recorded at frequency rank #10,061, classified as anadj, pronounced [ˈklɛvɐ]. cleveren is at rank #48,044, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ˈklɛvəʁən].
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 58105, this pair ranks #875,615 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of clever vs cleveren
Shared letters: celrv. Private to "clever": -. Private to "cleveren": n.
"clever" · 6 letters · shape CCVCVC · "cleveren" · 8 letters · shape CCVCVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "clever" for "cleveren" ever safe?
Which is more common, "clever" or "cleveren"?
After this comparison
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "clever" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "cleveren" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #875,615 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "clever" and "cleveren" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "cleveren vs cleverer". 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 #875,615 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.