KadettvskaputtWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: Kadett is a noun, kaputt is an adjective, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“Kadett” is a noun and “kaputt” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#47,514
“Kadett” frequency rank
#2,253
“kaputt” frequency rank
49767
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Kadett kaputt
Definition angehender Offiziersanwärter in einem schadhaften oder funktionslosen Zustand

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set Kadett and kaputt apart are highlighted. They share 4 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

6 ch
Kadett
6 ch
kaputt

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: Kadett is [kaˈdɛt] while kaputt is [kaˈpʊt]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 49767, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Kadett is recorded at frequency rank #47,514, classified as anoun, pronounced [kaˈdɛt]. kaputt is at rank #2,253, tagged as anadj, pronounced [kaˈpʊt].

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 49767, this pair ranks #1,199,170 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of Kadett vs kaputt

Shared letters: akt. Private to "Kadett": de. Private to "kaputt": pu.

"Kadett" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCC  ·  "kaputt" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Kadettakdett · kaddett · kadet · kadtet · kaedtt · kdaett · kkadett
  • kaputtakputt · kapputt · kaptut · kaput · kauptt · kkaputt · kpautt

Frequency comparison

Kadett#47,514
kaputt#2,253

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "Kadett" and "kaputt" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "Kadett" is a noun and "kaputt" an adjective, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "Kadett" or "kaputt"?
"kaputt" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #2,253 in our German list, against #47,514 for "Kadett". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

Remembering Kadett vs kaputt

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a noun, it's “Kadett”; for an adjective, it's “kaputt”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “Kadett” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list