Which to use
“Kälte” and “Kiste” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #5,974
- “Kälte” frequency rank
- #7,350
- “Kiste” frequency rank
- 13324
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | Kälte | Kiste |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | niedrige Temperatur | massiver Behälter, meist aus Holz |
Where the eye mixes Kälte and Kiste
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence. Kälte and Kiste 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 Kiste
A purely visual mix-up. Kälte ([ˈkɛltə]) and Kiste ([ˈkɪstə]) 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 13324, 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]. Kiste is at rank #7,350, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈkɪstə].
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 13324, this pair ranks #1,958,701 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of Kälte vs Kiste
Shared letters: ekt. Private to "Kälte": lä. Private to "Kiste": is.
"Kälte" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV · "Kiste" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV
Known mistypes of this pair
- Kiste ← ikste · kiset · kisste · kistte · kitse · kkiste · ksite
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "Kälte" and "Kiste" be used interchangeably?
In ordinary German text, does "Kälte" or "Kiste" show up more?
After this comparison
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 "Kiste" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,958,701 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "Kälte" and "Kiste" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Kälte 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 #1,958,701 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.