Which to use
“kargen” and “kauen” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #40,627
- “kargen” frequency rank
- #22,394
- “kauen” frequency rank
- 63021
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | kargen | kauen |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | mit etwas geizen, es nicht gerne teilen oder verschenken | Nahrung mit den Zähnen, durch wiederholtes Öffnen und Schließen der Kiefer, zerkleinern |
Where the eye mixes kargen and kauen
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. kargen runs 6 letters (CVCCVC) against kauen's 5 (CVVVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Visual trap between kargen and kauen
A purely visual mix-up. kargen ([ˈkaʁɡn̩]) and kauen ([ˈkaʊ̯ən]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 63021, 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]. kauen is at rank #22,394, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈkaʊ̯ən].
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 63021, this pair ranks #691,651 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of kargen vs kauen
Shared letters: aekn. Private to "kargen": gr. Private to "kauen": u.
"kargen" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC · "kauen" · 5 letters · shape CVVVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "kargen" for "kauen" ever safe?
Frequency check: "kargen" vs "kauen" - which ranks higher?
Useful next steps
Eye-level mix-up between "kargen" and "kauen" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "kargen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "kauen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #691,651 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "kargen" and "kauen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "karge vs kargen". 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 #691,651 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.