kahlevsKehlenWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: kahle is a adjective, Kehlen is a name, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“kahle” is an adjective and “Kehlen” is a name - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#33,138
“kahle” frequency rank
#43,283
“Kehlen” frequency rank
76421
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature kahle Kehlen
Definition Nominativ Singular Femininum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs kahl eine Gemeinde in Luxemburg

Where the spellings diverge

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

5 ch
kahle
6 ch
Kehlen

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: kahle is [ˈkaːlə] while Kehlen is [ˈkeːlən]. 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 name), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 76421, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

kahle is recorded at frequency rank #33,138, classified as anadj, pronounced [ˈkaːlə]. Kehlen is at rank #43,283, tagged as aname, pronounced [ˈkeːlən].

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 76421, this pair ranks #284,303 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of kahle vs Kehlen

Shared letters: ehkl. Private to "kahle": a. Private to "Kehlen": n.

"kahle" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV  ·  "Kehlen" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • kahleakhle · kahel · kahhle · kahlle · kalhe · khale · kkahle
  • Kehlenekhlen · keheln · kehhlen · kehlenn · kehllen · kehlne · kelhen · khelen

Frequency comparison

kahle#33,138
Kehlen#43,283

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "kahle" and "Kehlen" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "kahle" is an adjective and "Kehlen" a name, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "kahle" or "Kehlen"?
"kahle" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #33,138 in our German list, against #43,283 for "Kehlen". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering kahle vs Kehlen

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need an adjective, it's “kahle”; for a name, it's “Kehlen”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “kahle” 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