kargenvsKartenWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: kargen is a verb, Karten is a noun, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“kargen” is a verb and “Karten” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#40,627
“kargen” frequency rank
#1,559
“Karten” frequency rank
42186
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature kargen Karten
Definition mit etwas geizen, es nicht gerne teilen oder verschenken Nominativ Plural des Substantivs Karte

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set kargen and Karten apart are highlighted. They share 5 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

6 ch
kargen
6 ch
Karten

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: kargen is [ˈkaʁɡn̩] while Karten is [ˈkaʁtn̩]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by a single letter - g in “kargen” becomes t in “Karten”, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 42186, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

kargen is recorded at frequency rank #40,627, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈkaʁɡn̩]. Karten is at rank #1,559, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈkaʁtn̩].

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 42186, this pair ranks #1,456,972 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of kargen vs Karten

Shared letters: aeknr. Private to "kargen": g. Private to "Karten": t.

"kargen" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC  ·  "Karten" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • kargenakrgen · kagren · karegn · kargenn · karggen · kargne · karrgen · kkargen
  • Kartenakrten · karetn · karrten · kartenn · kartne · kartten · katren · kkarten

Frequency comparison

kargen#40,627
Karten#1,559

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "kargen" and "Karten" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "kargen" is a verb and "Karten" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "kargen" or "Karten"?
"Karten" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #1,559 in our German list, against #40,627 for "kargen". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

Remembering kargen vs Karten

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a verb, it's “kargen”; for a noun, it's “Karten”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “kargen” 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