Which to use
“Kälte” and “Kelle” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #5,974
- “Kälte” frequency rank
- #36,441
- “Kelle” frequency rank
- 42415
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | Kälte | Kelle |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | niedrige Temperatur | ein Schöpflöffel |
Where the eye mixes Kälte and Kelle
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence. Kälte and Kelle follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (CVCCV). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.
Why the eye confuses Kälte with Kelle
A purely visual mix-up. Kälte ([ˈkɛltə]) and Kelle ([ˈkɛlə]) 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 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 42415, 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]. Kelle is at rank #36,441, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈkɛlə].
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 42415, this pair ranks #1,450,014 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of Kälte vs Kelle
Shared letters: ekl. Private to "Kälte": tä. Private to "Kelle": -.
"Kälte" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV · "Kelle" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV
Known mistypes of this pair
- Kelle ← eklle · kelel · kkelle · klele
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "Kälte" for "Kelle" ever safe?
In ordinary German text, does "Kälte" or "Kelle" show up more?
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 "Kelle" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,450,014 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "Kälte" and "Kelle" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Kelle vs Kölle". 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 #1,450,014 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.