Which to use
“kal” is an adjective and “klau” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #37,602
- “kal” frequency rank
- #38,851
- “klau” frequency rank
- 76453
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | kal | klau |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | kalt | 2. Person Singular Imperativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs klauen |
Where the eye mixes kal and klau
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence. kal runs 3 letters (CVC) against klau's 4 (CCVV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Visual trap between kal and klau
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: kal is [kal] while klau is [klaʊ̯]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (adjective vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 76453, 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]. klau is at rank #38,851, tagged as averb, pronounced [klaʊ̯].
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 76453, this pair ranks #283,545 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of kal vs klau
Shared letters: akl. Private to "kal": -. Private to "klau": u.
"kal" · 3 letters · shape CVC · "klau" · 4 letters · shape CCVV
Known mistypes of this pair
- klau ← kalu · kklau · kllau · klua · lkau
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "kal" for "klau" ever safe?
Frequency check: "kal" vs "klau" - which ranks higher?
What to do next
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "kal" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "klau" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #283,545 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "kal" and "klau" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "klau vs kola". 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 #283,545 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.