Which to use
“kac” is a noun and “karg” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #43,278
- “kac” frequency rank
- #39,459
- “karg” frequency rank
- 82737
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | kac | karg |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | körperliches Unwoholsein nach übermäßigem Alkoholkonsum; Kater, Katzenjammer, Katerstimmung, Hangover, Hang-over | (sehr) knapp, gering, wenig |
Where the eye mixes kac and karg
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence. kac runs 3 letters (CVC) against karg's 4 (CVCC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses kac with karg
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: kac is [kat͡s] while karg is [kaʁk]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 82737, 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]. karg is at rank #39,459, tagged as anadj, pronounced [kaʁk].
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 82737, this pair ranks #151,926 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of kac vs karg
Shared letters: ak. Private to "kac": c. Private to "karg": gr.
"kac" · 3 letters · shape CVC · "karg" · 4 letters · shape CVCC
Known mistypes of this pair
- karg ← akrg · kagr · kargg · karrg · kkarg · krag
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "kac" and "karg" be used interchangeably?
In ordinary German text, does "kac" or "karg" show up more?
After this comparison
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "kac" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "karg" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #151,926 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "kac" and "karg" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "kac vs KGaA". 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 #151,926 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.