kal vs kau, What's the Difference?

Which to use

“kal” is an adjective and “kau” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#37,602
“kal” frequency rank: #41,934
“kau” frequency rank: 79536
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature	kal	kau
Definition	kalt	2. Person Singular Imperativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs kauen

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set kal and kau apart are highlighted. They share 2 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

3 ch

kal

3 ch

kau

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: kal is [kal] while kau is [kaʊ̯]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by a single letter - l in “kal” becomes u in “kau”, and the parts of speech differ too (adjective vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 79536, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

kal is recorded at frequency rank #37,602, classified as anadj, pronounced [kal]. kau is at rank #41,934, tagged as averb, pronounced [kaʊ̯].

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 79536, this pair ranks #214,414 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of kal vs kau

Shared letters: ak. Private to "kal": l. Private to "kau": u.

"kal" · 3 letters · shape CVC · "kau" · 3 letters · shape CVV

Frequency comparison

kal#37,602

kau#41,934

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "kal" and "kau" be used interchangeably?

No - they are not even the same part of speech. "kal" is an adjective and "kau" a verb, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.

Which is more common, "kal" or "kau"?

"kal" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #37,602 in our German list, against #41,934 for "kau". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering kal vs kau

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

Check the role first: if you need an adjective, it's “kal”; for a verb, it's “kau”.
See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “kal” entry
Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable