KarlsvsKarreWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

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

#14,337
“Karls” frequency rank
#18,943
“Karre” frequency rank
33280
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Karls Karre
Definition Genitiv Singular des Substantivs Karl eine Transportfläche auf Rädern ohne eigenen Antrieb

Where the eye mixes Karls and Karre

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence. Karls (CVCCC) and Karre (CVCCV) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.

5 ch
Karls
5 ch
Karre

Visual trap between Karls and Karre

A purely visual mix-up. Karls ([kaʁls]) and Karre ([ˈkaʁə]) 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 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 33280, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Karls is recorded at frequency rank #14,337, classified as anoun, pronounced [kaʁls]. Karre is at rank #18,943, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈkaʁə].

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 33280, this pair ranks #1,689,404 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of Karls vs Karre

Shared letters: akr. Private to "Karls": ls. Private to "Karre": e.

"Karls" · 5 letters · shape CVCCC  ·  "Karre" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Karls ← akrls · kalrs · karlls · karlss · karrls · karsl · kkarls · krals
  • Karre ← akrre · kare · karer · kkarre · krare

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "Karls" for "Karre" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([kaʁls] versus [ˈkaʁə]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "Karls" vs "Karre" - which ranks higher?
"Karls" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #14,337 in our German list, against #18,943 for "Karre". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.

  • Full dictionary entry for "Karls" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Karre" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,689,404 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Karls" and "Karre" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "karge vs Karre". 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 #1,689,404 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list