kargvskargeWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: karg is a adjective, karge is a verb, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

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 spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set karg and karge apart are highlighted. They share 4 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

4 ch
karg
5 ch
karge

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

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

  • kargakrg · kagr · kargg · karrg · kkarg · krag
  • kargeakrge · kagre · kareg · kargge · karrge · kkarge · krage

Frequency comparison

karg#39,459
karge#49,815

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "karg" and "karge" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "karg" is an adjective and "karge" a verb, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "karg" or "karge"?
"karg" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #39,459 in our German list, against #49,815 for "karge". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering karg vs karge

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need an adjective, it's “karg”; for a verb, it's “karge”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “karg” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list