kapiervskapierenWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#44,002
“kapier” frequency rank
#19,271
“kapieren” frequency rank
63273
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature kapier kapieren
Definition 2. Person Singular Imperativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs kapieren verstehen

Where the eye mixes kapier and kapieren

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. kapier runs 6 letters (CVCVVC) against kapieren's 8 (CVCVVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

6 ch
kapier
8 ch
kapieren

Why the eye confuses kapier with kapieren

A purely visual mix-up. kapier ([kaˈpiːɐ̯]) and kapieren ([kaˈpiːʁən]) 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 extra letter(s) - “kapier” sits inside “kapieren”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 63273, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

kapier is recorded at frequency rank #44,002, classified as averb, pronounced [kaˈpiːɐ̯]. kapieren is at rank #19,271, tagged as averb, pronounced [kaˈpiːʁən].

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 63273, this pair ranks #682,635 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of kapier vs kapieren

Shared letters: aeikpr. Private to "kapier": -. Private to "kapieren": n.

"kapier" · 6 letters · shape CVCVVC  ·  "kapieren" · 8 letters · shape CVCVVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • kapier ← akpier · kaiper · kapeir · kapierr · kapire · kappier · kkapier · kpaier
  • kapieren ← akpieren · kaiperen · kapeiren · kapieern · kapierenn · kapierne · kapierren · kapireen

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "kapier" and "kapieren" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([kaˈpiːɐ̯] versus [kaˈpiːʁən]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "kapier" or "kapieren"?
"kapieren" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #19,271 in our German list, against #44,002 for "kapier". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

Eye-level mix-up between "kapier" and "kapieren" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.

  • Full dictionary entry for "kapier" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "kapieren" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #682,635 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "kapier" and "kapieren" 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 #682,635 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