KaiservsKasperWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

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

#1,636
“Kaiser” frequency rank
#18,593
“Kasper” frequency rank
20229
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Kaiser Kasper
Definition Titel des höchsten weltlichen Herrschers in bestimmten Monarchien besonders lustige Hauptfigur eines Puppentheaters, das nach ihm benannt ist

Where the eye mixes Kaiser and Kasper

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence.

6 ch
Kaiser
6 ch
Kasper

Why the eye confuses Kaiser with Kasper

A purely visual mix-up. Kaiser ([ˈkaɪ̯zɐ]) and Kasper ([ˈkaspɐ]) 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 20229, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Kaiser is recorded at frequency rank #1,636, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈkaɪ̯zɐ]. Kasper is at rank #18,593, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈkaspɐ].

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 20229, this pair ranks #1,899,940 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of Kaiser vs Kasper

Shared letters: aekrs. Private to "Kaiser": i. Private to "Kasper": p.

"Kaiser" · 6 letters · shape CVVCVC  ·  "Kasper" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Kaiserakiser · kaiesr · kaiserr · kaisre · kaisser · kasier · kiaser · kkaiser
  • Kasperaksper · kapser · kasepr · kasperr · kaspper · kaspre · kassper · kkasper

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "Kaiser" and "Kasper" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ˈkaɪ̯zɐ] versus [ˈkaspɐ]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "Kaiser" vs "Kasper" - which ranks higher?
"Kaiser" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #1,636 in our German list, against #18,593 for "Kasper". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

Useful next steps

Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.

  • Full dictionary entry for "Kaiser" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Kasper" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,899,940 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Kaiser" and "Kasper" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Kasper vs Kaste". 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 #1,899,940 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list