Which to use
“Kälte” is a noun and “kalter” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #5,974
- “Kälte” frequency rank
- #17,047
- “kalter” frequency rank
- 23021
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | Kälte | kalter |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | niedrige Temperatur | Nominativ Singular Maskulinum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs kalt |
Where the spellings diverge
Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set Kälte and kalter apart are highlighted. They share 4 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: Kälte is [ˈkɛltə] while kalter is [ˈkaltɐ]. 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 (noun vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 23021, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
Kälte is recorded at frequency rank #5,974, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈkɛltə]. kalter is at rank #17,047, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ˈkaltɐ].
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 23021, this pair ranks #1,866,762 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of Kälte vs kalter
Shared letters: eklt. Private to "Kälte": ä. Private to "kalter": ar.
"Kälte" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV · "kalter" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- kalter ← aklter · kaletr · kallter · kalterr · kaltre · kaltter · katler · kkalter
Frequency comparison
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "Kälte" and "kalter" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "Kälte" or "kalter"?
Remembering Kälte vs kalter
The fastest way to pick the right one every time.
- Check the role first: if you need a noun, it's “Kälte”; for an adjective, it's “kalter”.
- See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “Kälte” entry
- Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable