kalt vs kau, What's the Difference?

Which to use

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

#2,306
“kalt” frequency rank: #41,934
“kau” frequency rank: 44240
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature	kalt	kau
Definition	eine niedrige Temperatur habend; von/mit niedriger Temperatur; nicht (mehr) heiß	2. Person Singular Imperativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs kauen

Where the spellings diverge

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

4 ch

kalt

3 ch

kau

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: kalt is [kalt] while kau is [kaʊ̯]. 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 44240, 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]. 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 44240, this pair ranks #1,392,477 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of kalt vs kau

Shared letters: ak. Private to "kalt": lt. Private to "kau": u.

"kalt" · 4 letters · shape CVCC · "kau" · 3 letters · shape CVV

Known mistypes of this pair

kalt ← aklt · kallt · kaltt · katl · kkalt · klat

Frequency comparison

kalt#2,306

kau#41,934

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

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

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

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

"kalt" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #2,306 in our German list, against #41,934 for "kau". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

Remembering kalt vs kau

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

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