Which to use
“kahle” is an adjective and “kühle” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #33,138
- “kahle” frequency rank
- #13,191
- “kühle” frequency rank
- 46329
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | kahle | kühle |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Nominativ Singular Femininum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs kahl | 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs kühlen |
Where the spellings diverge
Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set kahle and kühle apart are highlighted. They share 4 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: kahle is [ˈkaːlə] while kühle is [ˈkyːlə]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by a single letter - a in “kahle” becomes ü in “kühle”, and the parts of speech differ too (adjective vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 46329, 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]. kühle is at rank #13,191, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈkyːlə].
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 46329, this pair ranks #1,322,818 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of kahle vs kühle
Shared letters: ehkl. Private to "kahle": a. Private to "kühle": ü.
"kahle" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV · "kühle" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV
Known mistypes of this pair
- kahle ← akhle · kahel · kahhle · kahlle · kalhe · khale · kkahle
Frequency comparison
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "kahle" and "kühle" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "kahle" or "kühle"?
Remembering kahle vs kühle
The fastest way to pick the right one every time.
- Check the role first: if you need an adjective, it's “kahle”; for a verb, it's “kühle”.
- 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