Which to use
“karg” is an adjective and “karge” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #39,459
- “karg” frequency rank
- #49,815
- “karge” frequency rank
- 89274
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | karg | karge |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | (sehr) knapp, gering, wenig | 2. Person Singular Imperativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs kargen |
Where the eye mixes karg and karge
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. karg runs 4 letters (CVCC) against karge's 5 (CVCCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Visual trap between karg and karge
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: karg is [kaʁk] while karge is [ˈkaʁɡə]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 extra letter(s) - “karg” sits inside “karge”, and the parts of speech differ too (adjective vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 89274, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
karg is recorded at frequency rank #39,459, classified as anadj, pronounced [kaʁk]. karge is at rank #49,815, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈkaʁɡə].
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 89274, this pair ranks #59,081 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of karg vs karge
Shared letters: agkr. Private to "karg": -. Private to "karge": e.
"karg" · 4 letters · shape CVCC · "karge" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "karg" and "karge" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "karg" or "karge"?
What to do next
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "karg" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "karge" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #59,081 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "karg" and "karge" 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 #59,081 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.