KarlsvsKarteTell them apart

Which to use

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

#14,337
“Karls” frequency rank
#1,203
“Karte” frequency rank
15540
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Karls Karte
Definition Genitiv Singular des Substantivs Karl ein handlicher, planer, steifer aber nicht starrer, meist rechteckiger Gegenstand aus Karton, Pappe, Papier, Kunststoff, allenfalls Holz oder Metall

Where the eye mixes Karls and Karte

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

5 ch
Karls
5 ch
Karte

Look-alike desk: Karls vs Karte

A purely visual mix-up. Karls ([kaʁls]) and Karte ([ˈkaʁtə]) 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 15540, 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]. Karte is at rank #1,203, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈkaʁtə].

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 15540, this pair ranks #1,943,055 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of Karls vs Karte

Shared letters: akr. Private to "Karls": ls. Private to "Karte": et.

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

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Karls ← akrls · kalrs · karlls · karlss · karrls · karsl · kkarls · krals
  • Karte ← akrte · karet · karrte · kartte · katre · kkarte · krate

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "Karls" for "Karte" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([kaʁls] versus [ˈkaʁtə]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "Karls" vs "Karte" - which ranks higher?
"Karte" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #1,203 in our German list, against #14,337 for "Karls". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

What to do next

Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.

  • Full dictionary entry for "Karls" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Karte" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,943,055 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Karls" and "Karte" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "karge vs Karls". 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 #1,943,055 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