Which to use
“kämmen” and “kommen” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #41,301
- “kämmen” frequency rank
- #181
- “kommen” frequency rank
- 41482
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | kämmen | kommen |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | mithilfe eines Kammes die Haare richten | einen Ort erreichen, sich von einem Ort hierher begeben |
Where the eye mixes kämmen and kommen
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. kämmen and kommen follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (CVCCVC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.
Why the eye confuses kämmen with kommen
A purely visual mix-up. kämmen ([ˈkɛmən]) and kommen ([ˈkɔmən]) 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 a single letter - ä in “kämmen” becomes o in “kommen”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 41482, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
kämmen is recorded at frequency rank #41,301, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈkɛmən]. kommen is at rank #181, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈkɔmən].
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 41482, this pair ranks #1,478,061 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of kämmen vs kommen
Shared letters: ekmn. Private to "kämmen": ä. Private to "kommen": o.
"kämmen" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC · "kommen" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- kommen ← kkommen · kmomen · komemn · komen · kommenn · kommne · okmmen
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "kämmen" for "kommen" ever safe?
In ordinary German text, does "kämmen" or "kommen" 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 "kämmen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "kommen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,478,061 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "kämmen" and "kommen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Kamenz vs kämmen". 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 #1,478,061 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.