Which to use
“kahlen” is an adjective and “kämmen” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #29,185
- “kahlen” frequency rank
- #41,301
- “kämmen” frequency rank
- 70486
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | kahlen | kämmen |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Genitiv Singular Maskulinum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs kahl | mithilfe eines Kammes die Haare richten |
Where the eye mixes kahlen and kämmen
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence. kahlen and kämmen follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (CVCCVC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.
Visual trap between kahlen and kämmen
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: kahlen is [ˈkaːlən] while kämmen is [ˈkɛmən]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 3 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 70486, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
kahlen is recorded at frequency rank #29,185, classified as anadj, pronounced [ˈkaːlən]. kämmen is at rank #41,301, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈkɛmən].
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 70486, this pair ranks #444,919 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of kahlen vs kämmen
Shared letters: ekn. Private to "kahlen": ahl. Private to "kämmen": mä.
"kahlen" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC · "kämmen" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- kahlen ← akhlen · kaheln · kahhlen · kahlenn · kahllen · kahlne · kalhen · khalen
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "kahlen" and "kämmen" be used interchangeably?
In ordinary German text, does "kahlen" or "kämmen" show up more?
After this comparison
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "kahlen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "kämmen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #444,919 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "kahlen" and "kämmen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Kamenz vs kämmen". 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 #444,919 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.