kargvsKarmaWhat's the difference?

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

Which to use

“karg” is an adjective and “Karma” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#39,459
“karg” frequency rank
#10,502
“Karma” frequency rank
49961
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature karg Karma
Definition (sehr) knapp, gering, wenig Hauptglaubenssatz im Hinduismus, Buddhismus und Jainismus; das spirituelle Konzept, dass jede (physische und geistige) Handlung unweigerlich Folgen hat, die sich durch Schicksalsschläge während des weiteren irdischen Lebens ausdrücken oder/und die Form der Wiedergeburt (in der Hölle oder auf der Erde; als Mensch, Tier oder Pflanze) bestimmen; die Summe der nach diesem Prinzip bewerteten Handlungen

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set karg and Karma apart are highlighted. They share 3 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

4 ch
karg
5 ch
Karma

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: karg is [kaʁk] while Karma is [ˈkaʁma]. 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 49961, 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]. Karma is at rank #10,502, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈkaʁma].

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 49961, this pair ranks #1,191,884 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of karg vs Karma

Shared letters: akr. Private to "karg": g. Private to "Karma": m.

"karg" · 4 letters · shape CVCC  ·  "Karma" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • kargakrg · kagr · kargg · karrg · kkarg · krag
  • Karmaakrma · kamra · karam · karmma · karrma · kkarma · krama

Frequency comparison

karg#39,459
Karma#10,502

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "karg" and "Karma" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "karg" is an adjective and "Karma" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "karg" or "Karma"?
"Karma" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #10,502 in our German list, against #39,459 for "karg". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering karg vs Karma

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need an adjective, it's “karg”; for a noun, it's “Karma”.
  • 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