KärtchenvsKörbchenConfusable pair

Which to use

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

#47,550
“Kärtchen” frequency rank
#31,144
“Körbchen” frequency rank
78694
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Kärtchen Körbchen
Definition kleine Karte kleiner Korb

Where the eye mixes Kärtchen and Körbchen

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. Kärtchen and Körbchen follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (CVCCCCVC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.

8 ch
Kärtchen
8 ch
Körbchen

Look-alike desk: Kärtchen vs Körbchen

A purely visual mix-up. Kärtchen ([ˈkɛʁtçən]) and Körbchen ([ˈkœʁpçən]) 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 78694, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Kärtchen is recorded at frequency rank #47,550, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈkɛʁtçən]. Körbchen is at rank #31,144, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈkœʁpçən].

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 78694, this pair ranks #232,573 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of Kärtchen vs Körbchen

Shared letters: cehknr. Private to "Kärtchen": tä. Private to "Körbchen": bö.

"Kärtchen" · 8 letters · shape CVCCCCVC  ·  "Körbchen" · 8 letters · shape CVCCCCVC

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "Kärtchen" and "Körbchen" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ˈkɛʁtçən] versus [ˈkœʁpçən]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "Kärtchen" or "Körbchen"?
"Körbchen" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #31,144 in our German list, against #47,550 for "Kärtchen". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Useful next steps

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

  • Full dictionary entry for "Kärtchen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Körbchen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #232,573 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Kärtchen" and "Körbchen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Kärtchen vs Kerlchen". Nearby pair

Confusion rank #232,573 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