kargvsKarteWhat's the difference?

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

Which to use

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

#39,459
“karg” frequency rank
#1,203
“Karte” frequency rank
40662
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature karg Karte
Definition (sehr) knapp, gering, wenig ein handlicher, planer, steifer aber nicht starrer, meist rechteckiger Gegenstand aus Karton, Pappe, Papier, Kunststoff, allenfalls Holz oder Metall

Where the spellings diverge

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

4 ch
karg
5 ch
Karte

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: karg is [kaʁk] while Karte is [ˈkaʁtə]. 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 40662, 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]. Karte is at rank #1,203, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈkaʁtə].

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 40662, this pair ranks #1,501,999 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of karg vs Karte

Shared letters: akr. Private to "karg": g. Private to "Karte": et.

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

Known mistypes of this pair

  • kargakrg · kagr · kargg · karrg · kkarg · krag
  • Karteakrte · karet · karrte · kartte · katre · kkarte · krate

Frequency comparison

karg#39,459
Karte#1,203

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "karg" and "Karte" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "karg" is an adjective and "Karte" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "karg" or "Karte"?
"Karte" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #1,203 in our German list, against #39,459 for "karg". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

Remembering karg vs Karte

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 “Karte”.
  • 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