Which to use
“kahl” is an adjective and “Kai” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #19,269
- “kahl” frequency rank
- #5,859
- “Kai” frequency rank
- 25128
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | kahl | Kai |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | nicht behaart | befestigtes Ufer in einem Hafen als Schiffsanlegeplatz |
Where the eye mixes kahl and Kai
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between kahl and Kai
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: kahl is [kaːl] while Kai is [kaɪ̯]. 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 (adjective vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 25128, 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]. 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 25128, this pair ranks #1,837,726 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of kahl vs Kai
Shared letters: ak. Private to "kahl": hl. Private to "Kai": i.
"kahl" · 4 letters · shape CVCC · "Kai" · 3 letters · shape CVV
Known mistypes of this pair
- kahl ← akhl · kahhl · kahll · kalh · khal · kkahl
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "kahl" for "Kai" ever safe?
In ordinary German text, does "kahl" or "Kai" show up more?
What to do next
Eye-level mix-up between "kahl" and "Kai" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "kahl" 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 #1,837,726 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "kahl" and "Kai" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "kahl vs kräht". 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 #1,837,726 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.