Which to use
“kalt” is an adjective and “kann” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #2,306
- “kalt” frequency rank
- #53
- “kann” frequency rank
- 2359
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | kalt | kann |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | eine niedrige Temperatur habend; von/mit niedriger Temperatur; nicht (mehr) heiß | 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs können |
Where the eye mixes kalt and kann
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between kalt and kann
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: kalt is [kalt] while kann is [kan]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (adjective vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 2359, 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]. kann is at rank #53, tagged as averb, pronounced [kan].
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 2359, this pair ranks #2,002,545 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of kalt vs kann
Shared letters: ak. Private to "kalt": lt. Private to "kann": n.
"kalt" · 4 letters · shape CVCC · "kann" · 4 letters · shape CVCC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "kalt" and "kann" mean the same thing in a sentence?
In ordinary German text, does "kalt" or "kann" show up more?
What to do next
Eye-level mix-up between "kalt" and "kann" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "kalt" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "kann" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #2,002,545 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "kalt" and "kann" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "kalt 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 #2,002,545 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.