kämevskämmenWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

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

#4,629
“käme” frequency rank
#41,301
“kämmen” frequency rank
45930
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature käme kämmen
Definition 1. Person Singular Konjunktiv II Präteritum Aktiv des Verbs kommen mithilfe eines Kammes die Haare richten

Where the eye mixes käme and kämmen

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. käme runs 4 letters (CVCV) against kämmen's 6 (CVCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

4 ch
käme
6 ch
kämmen

Why the eye confuses käme with kämmen

A purely visual mix-up. käme ([ˈkɛːmə]) and kämmen ([ˈkɛmən]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they differ by 2 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 45930, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

käme is recorded at frequency rank #4,629, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈkɛːmə]. kämmen is at rank #41,301, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈkɛmən].

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 45930, this pair ranks #1,336,323 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of käme vs kämmen

Shared letters: ekmä. Private to "käme": -. Private to "kämmen": n.

"käme" · 4 letters · shape CVCV  ·  "kämmen" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "käme" and "kämmen" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([ˈkɛːmə] versus [ˈkɛmən]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "käme" or "kämmen"?
"käme" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #4,629 in our German list, against #41,301 for "kämmen". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Useful next steps

Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.

  • Full dictionary entry for "käme" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "kämmen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,336,323 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "käme" and "kämmen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Kamenz vs kämmen". Nearby pair

Confusion rank #1,336,323 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