kacvsKaiConfusable pair

Which to use

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

#43,278
“kac” frequency rank
#5,859
“Kai” frequency rank
49137
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature kac Kai
Definition körperliches Unwoholsein nach übermäßigem Alkoholkonsum; Kater, Katzenjammer, Katerstimmung, Hangover, Hang-over befestigtes Ufer in einem Hafen als Schiffsanlegeplatz

Where the eye mixes kac and Kai

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.

3 ch
kac
3 ch
Kai

Why the eye confuses kac with Kai

A purely visual mix-up. kac ([kat͡s]) and Kai ([kaɪ̯]) 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 a single letter - c in “kac” becomes i in “Kai”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 49137, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

kac is recorded at frequency rank #43,278, classified as anoun, pronounced [kat͡s]. Kai is at rank #5,859, tagged as anoun, pronounced [kaɪ̯].

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 49137, this pair ranks #1,222,727 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of kac vs Kai

Shared letters: ak. Private to "kac": c. Private to "Kai": i.

"kac" · 3 letters · shape CVC  ·  "Kai" · 3 letters · shape CVV

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "kac" and "Kai" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([kat͡s] versus [kaɪ̯]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "kac" or "Kai"?
"Kai" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #5,859 in our German list, against #43,278 for "kac". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

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

  • Full dictionary entry for "kac" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Kai" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,222,727 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "kac" and "Kai" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "kac vs KGaA". Nearby pair

Confusion rank #1,222,727 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