Which to use
“kalter” is an adjective and “kapier” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #17,047
- “kalter” frequency rank
- #44,002
- “kapier” frequency rank
- 61049
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | kalter | kapier |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Nominativ Singular Maskulinum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs kalt | 2. Person Singular Imperativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs kapieren |
Where the eye mixes kalter and kapier
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. kalter (CVCCVC) and kapier (CVCVVC) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.
Why the eye confuses kalter with kapier
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: kalter is [ˈkaltɐ] while kapier is [kaˈpiːɐ̯]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (adjective vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 61049, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
kalter is recorded at frequency rank #17,047, classified as anadj, pronounced [ˈkaltɐ]. kapier is at rank #44,002, tagged as averb, pronounced [kaˈpiːɐ̯].
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 61049, this pair ranks #764,187 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of kalter vs kapier
Shared letters: aekr. Private to "kalter": lt. Private to "kapier": ip.
"kalter" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC · "kapier" · 6 letters · shape CVCVVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "kalter" for "kapier" ever safe?
Which is more common, "kalter" or "kapier"?
What to do next
Eye-level mix-up between "kalter" and "kapier" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "kalter" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "kapier" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #764,187 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "kalter" and "kapier" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "kapier vs Karies". 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 #764,187 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.