kargen vs klären, What's the Difference?

Which to use

“kargen” and “klären” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#40,627
“kargen” frequency rank: #3,900
“klären” frequency rank: 44527
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature	kargen	klären
Definition	mit etwas geizen, es nicht gerne teilen oder verschenken	mitteilen, wie sich etwas in Wahrheit verhält

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set kargen and klären apart are highlighted. They share 4 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

6 ch

kargen

6 ch

klären

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. kargen ([ˈkaʁɡn̩]) and klären ([ˈklɛːʁən]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 3 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 44527, 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]. klären is at rank #3,900, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈklɛːʁən].

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 44527, this pair ranks #1,383,317 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of kargen vs klären

Shared letters: eknr. Private to "kargen": ag. Private to "klären": lä.

"kargen" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC · "klären" · 6 letters · shape CCVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

kargen ← akrgen · kagren · karegn · kargenn · karggen · kargne · karrgen · kkargen

Frequency comparison

kargen#40,627

klären#3,900

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "kargen" and "klären" be used interchangeably?

No. They are said differently ([ˈkaʁɡn̩] versus [ˈklɛːʁən]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.

Which is more common, "kargen" or "klären"?

"klären" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #3,900 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 klären

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

Read both glosses above and match the meaning you intend, only context separates this pair.
See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “kargen” entry
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