Which to use
“Karies” and “Kies” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #39,460
- “Karies” frequency rank
- #18,946
- “Kies” frequency rank
- 58406
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | Karies | Kies |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Erkrankung der Zähne, bei der der Zahnschmelz und teilweise das Dentin zerfällt | lose Gesteinsstücke in einer Korngröße von etwa 3 mm bis 30 mm |
Where the eye mixes Karies and Kies
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. Karies runs 6 letters (CVCVVC) against Kies's 4 (CVVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Visual trap between Karies and Kies
A purely visual mix-up. Karies ([ˈkaːʁiɛs]) and Kies ([kiːs]) 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 2 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 58406, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
Karies is recorded at frequency rank #39,460, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈkaːʁiɛs]. Kies is at rank #18,946, tagged as anoun, pronounced [kiːs].
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 58406, this pair ranks #864,004 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of Karies vs Kies
Shared letters: eiks. Private to "Karies": ar. Private to "Kies": -.
"Karies" · 6 letters · shape CVCVVC · "Kies" · 4 letters · shape CVVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "Karies" for "Kies" ever safe?
Frequency check: "Karies" vs "Kies" - which ranks higher?
Useful next steps
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "Karies" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "Kies" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #864,004 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "Karies" and "Kies" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Karies vs Knies". 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 #864,004 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.