Which to use
“kahle” is an adjective and “kühlt” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #33,138
- “kahle” frequency rank
- #29,208
- “kühlt” frequency rank
- 62346
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | kahle | kühlt |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Nominativ Singular Femininum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs kahl | 2. Person Plural Imperativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs kühlen |
Where the spellings diverge
Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set kahle and kühlt apart are highlighted. They share 3 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 kühlt is [kyːlt]. 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 (adjective vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 62346, 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]. kühlt is at rank #29,208, tagged as averb, pronounced [kyːlt].
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 62346, this pair ranks #716,277 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of kahle vs kühlt
Shared letters: hkl. Private to "kahle": ae. Private to "kühlt": tü.
"kahle" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV · "kühlt" · 5 letters · shape CVCCC
Known mistypes of this pair
- kahle ← akhle · kahel · kahhle · kahlle · kalhe · khale · kkahle
Frequency comparison
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "kahle" and "kühlt" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "kahle" or "kühlt"?
Remembering kahle vs kühlt
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 “kühlt”.
- 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