Which to use
“kahl” and “kahle” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #19,269
- “kahl” frequency rank
- #33,138
- “kahle” frequency rank
- 52407
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | kahl | kahle |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | nicht behaart | Nominativ Singular Femininum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs kahl |
Where the eye mixes kahl and kahle
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. kahl runs 4 letters (CVCC) against kahle's 5 (CVCCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Look-alike desk: kahl vs kahle
A purely visual mix-up. kahl ([kaːl]) and kahle ([ˈkaːlə]) 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 1 extra letter(s) - “kahl” sits inside “kahle”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 52407, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
kahl is recorded at frequency rank #19,269, classified as anadj, pronounced [kaːl]. kahle is at rank #33,138, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ˈkaːlə].
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 52407, this pair ranks #1,098,184 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of kahl vs kahle
Shared letters: ahkl. Private to "kahl": -. Private to "kahle": e.
"kahl" · 4 letters · shape CVCC · "kahle" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "kahl" for "kahle" ever safe?
Which is more common, "kahl" or "kahle"?
What to do next
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "kahl" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "kahle" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,098,184 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "kahl" and "kahle" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "kahle vs Kölle". 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 #1,098,184 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.