kahlevskühneWhat's the difference?

Which to use

“kahle” and “kühne” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#33,138
“kahle” frequency rank
#14,346
“kühne” frequency rank
47484
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature kahle kühne
Definition Nominativ Singular Femininum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs kahl Nominativ Singular Femininum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs kühn

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set kahle and kühne apart are highlighted. They share 3 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

5 ch
kahle
5 ch
kühne

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. kahle ([ˈkaːlə]) and kühne ([ˈkyːnə]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 47484, 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]. kühne is at rank #14,346, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ˈkyːnə].

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 47484, this pair ranks #1,282,623 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of kahle vs kühne

Shared letters: ehk. Private to "kahle": al. Private to "kühne": .

"kahle" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV  ·  "kühne" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • kahleakhle · kahel · kahhle · kahlle · kalhe · khale · kkahle

Frequency comparison

kahle#33,138
kühne#14,346

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "kahle" and "kühne" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ˈkaːlə] versus [ˈkyːnə]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "kahle" or "kühne"?
"kühne" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #14,346 in our German list, against #33,138 for "kahle". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering kahle vs kühne

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Read both glosses above and match the meaning you intend, only context separates this pair.
  • 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