Which to use
“kalt” is an adjective and “kan” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #2,306
- “kalt” frequency rank
- #14,843
- “kan” frequency rank
- 17149
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | kalt | kan |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | eine niedrige Temperatur habend; von/mit niedriger Temperatur; nicht (mehr) heiß | 1. Person Singular Präsens Indikativ des Verbs kunna ^(→ sv) |
Letter map: kalt vs kan
Shared letters muted; letters that set kalt and kan apart highlighted. Shared run: 2.
Grammar separator: kalt vs kan
Our dataset has no pronunciation recorded for both members, so the reliable separator here is grammatical: kalt is anadjective and kanaverb. On the page they differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 17149, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
kalt is recorded at frequency rank #2,306, classified as anadj, pronounced [kalt]. kan is at rank #14,843, tagged as averb, pronounced […].
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 17149, this pair ranks #1,929,938 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of kalt vs kan
Shared letters: ak. Private to "kalt": lt. Private to "kan": n.
"kalt" · 4 letters · shape CVCC · "kan" · 3 letters · shape CVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- kalt ← aklt · kallt · kaltt · katl · kkalt · klat
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "kalt" and "kan" be used interchangeably?
Frequency check: "kalt" vs "kan" - which ranks higher?
What to do next
Pair "kalt" vs "kan" is on the table, pick a follow-up below.
- Full dictionary entry for "kalt" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "kan" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,929,938 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "kalt" and "kan" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "kan vs puzzles". 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 #1,929,938 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.