Which to use
“kalter” is an adjective and “Kartei” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #17,047
- “kalter” frequency rank
- #48,265
- “Kartei” frequency rank
- 65312
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | kalter | Kartei |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Nominativ Singular Maskulinum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs kalt | nach einem bestimmten Prinzip sortierte Sammlung von Daten auf Karten oder Blättern gleichen Formats |
Where the eye mixes kalter and Kartei
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. kalter (CVCCVC) and Kartei (CVCCVV) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.
Visual trap between kalter and Kartei
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: kalter is [ˈkaltɐ] while Kartei is [kaʁˈtaɪ̯]. 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 noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 65312, 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]. Kartei is at rank #48,265, tagged as anoun, pronounced [kaʁˈtaɪ̯].
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 65312, this pair ranks #611,272 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of kalter vs Kartei
Shared letters: aekrt. Private to "kalter": l. Private to "Kartei": i.
"kalter" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC · "Kartei" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "kalter" and "Kartei" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Frequency check: "kalter" vs "Kartei" - which ranks higher?
Useful next steps
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "kalter" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "Kartei" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #611,272 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "kalter" and "Kartei" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "karge vs Kartei". 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 #611,272 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.