Which to use
“Kartei” and “Karten” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #48,265
- “Kartei” frequency rank
- #1,559
- “Karten” frequency rank
- 49824
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | Kartei | Karten |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | nach einem bestimmten Prinzip sortierte Sammlung von Daten auf Karten oder Blättern gleichen Formats | Nominativ Plural des Substantivs Karte |
Where the eye mixes Kartei and Karten
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. Kartei (CVCCVV) and Karten (CVCCVC) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.
Why the eye confuses Kartei with Karten
A purely visual mix-up. Kartei ([kaʁˈtaɪ̯]) and Karten ([ˈkaʁtn̩]) 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 a single letter - i in “Kartei” becomes n in “Karten”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 49824, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
Kartei is recorded at frequency rank #48,265, classified as anoun, pronounced [kaʁˈtaɪ̯]. Karten is at rank #1,559, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈkaʁtn̩].
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 49824, this pair ranks #1,196,984 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of Kartei vs Karten
Shared letters: aekrt. Private to "Kartei": i. Private to "Karten": n.
"Kartei" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVV · "Karten" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "Kartei" and "Karten" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Frequency check: "Kartei" vs "Karten" - which ranks higher?
After this comparison
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "Kartei" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "Karten" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,196,984 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "Kartei" and "Karten" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "karge vs Kartei". 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 #1,196,984 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.