KaiservsKassenWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

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

#1,636
“Kaiser” frequency rank
#9,743
“Kassen” frequency rank
11379
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Kaiser Kassen
Definition Titel des höchsten weltlichen Herrschers in bestimmten Monarchien Nominativ Plural des Substantivs Kasse

Where the eye mixes Kaiser and Kassen

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. Kaiser (CVVCVC) and Kassen (CVCCVC) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.

6 ch
Kaiser
6 ch
Kassen

Why the eye confuses Kaiser with Kassen

A purely visual mix-up. Kaiser ([ˈkaɪ̯zɐ]) and Kassen ([ˈkasn̩]) 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 11379, 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]. Kassen is at rank #9,743, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈkasn̩].

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 11379, this pair ranks #1,970,187 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of Kaiser vs Kassen

Shared letters: aeks. Private to "Kaiser": ir. Private to "Kassen": n.

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

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Kaiser ← akiser · kaiesr · kaiserr · kaisre · kaisser · kasier · kiaser · kkaiser
  • Kassen ← akssen · kasen · kasesn · kassenn · kassne · kaßen · kkassen · ksasen

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "Kaiser" and "Kassen" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ˈkaɪ̯zɐ] versus [ˈkasn̩]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
In ordinary German text, does "Kaiser" or "Kassen" show up more?
"Kaiser" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #1,636 in our German list, against #9,743 for "Kassen". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Useful next steps

Eye-level mix-up between "Kaiser" and "Kassen" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.

  • Full dictionary entry for "Kaiser" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Kassen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,970,187 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Kaiser" and "Kassen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Kasan vs Kassen". 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 #1,970,187 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