KältevsKantsWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

“Kälte” and “Kants” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#5,974
“Kälte” frequency rank
#38,218
“Kants” frequency rank
44192
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Kälte Kants
Definition niedrige Temperatur Genitiv Singular des Substantivs Kant

Where the eye mixes Kälte and Kants

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence. Kälte (CVCCV) and Kants (CVCCC) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.

5 ch
Kälte
5 ch
Kants

Visual trap between Kälte and Kants

A purely visual mix-up. Kälte ([ˈkɛltə]) and Kants ([kant͡s]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 3 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 44192, 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]. Kants is at rank #38,218, tagged as anoun, pronounced [kant͡s].

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 44192, this pair ranks #1,394,033 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of Kälte vs Kants

Shared letters: kt. Private to "Kälte": elä. Private to "Kants": ans.

"Kälte" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV  ·  "Kants" · 5 letters · shape CVCCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Kants ← aknts · kantss · kantts · katns · kkants

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "Kälte" and "Kants" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ˈkɛltə] versus [kant͡s]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "Kälte" or "Kants"?
"Kälte" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #5,974 in our German list, against #38,218 for "Kants". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

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 "Kälte" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Kants" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,394,033 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Kälte" and "Kants" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "kantig vs Kants". 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 #1,394,033 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list