Which to use
“karg” is an adjective and “karla” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #39,459
- “karg” frequency rank
- #33,140
- “karla” frequency rank
- 72599
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | karg | karla |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | (sehr) knapp, gering, wenig | Akkusativ Plural des Substantivs karl |
Where the eye mixes karg and karla
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence. karg runs 4 letters (CVCC) against karla's 5 (CVCCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Visual trap between karg and karla
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: karg is [kaʁk] while karla is [ˈkartla]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (adjective vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 72599, 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]. karla is at rank #33,140, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈkartla].
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 72599, this pair ranks #383,810 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of karg vs karla
Shared letters: akr. Private to "karg": g. Private to "karla": l.
"karg" · 4 letters · shape CVCC · "karla" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "karg" and "karla" be used interchangeably?
In ordinary German text, does "karg" or "karla" show up more?
What to do next
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "karg" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "karla" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #383,810 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "karg" and "karla" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "karg vs karge". 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 #383,810 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.