KabelvsKaderWhat's the difference?

Which to use

“Kabel” and “Kader” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#3,975
“Kabel” frequency rank
#4,902
“Kader” frequency rank
8877
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Kabel Kader
Definition isolierte Leitung zum Transport elektrischen Stroms beziehungsweise elektronischer Nachrichten Gesamtheit der Angehörigen einer etablierten (politischen) Elite; Gesamtheit der leitenden Funktionäre einer Partei- oder Massenorganisation, der leitenden Angestellten eines Unternehmens und so weiter

Where the eye mixes Kabel and Kader

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.

5 ch
Kabel
5 ch
Kader

Visual trap between Kabel and Kader

A purely visual mix-up. Kabel ([ˈkaːbl̩]) and Kader ([ˈkaːdɐ]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 8877, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Kabel is recorded at frequency rank #3,975, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈkaːbl̩]. Kader is at rank #4,902, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈkaːdɐ].

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 8877, this pair ranks #1,982,400 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of Kabel vs Kader

Shared letters: aek. Private to "Kabel": bl. Private to "Kader": dr.

"Kabel" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC  ·  "Kader" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Kabelakbel · kabbel · kabell · kable · kaebl · kbael · kkabel
  • Kaderakder · kadder · kaderr · kadre · kaedr · kdaer · kkader

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "Kabel" and "Kader" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ˈkaːbl̩] versus [ˈkaːdɐ]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
In ordinary German text, does "Kabel" or "Kader" show up more?
"Kabel" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #3,975 in our German list, against #4,902 for "Kader". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.

  • Full dictionary entry for "Kabel" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Kader" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,982,400 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Kabel" and "Kader" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Kader vs Kadett". 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 #1,982,400 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list