KartenvsKurdenConfusable pair

Which to use

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

#1,559
“Karten” frequency rank
#6,945
“Kurden” frequency rank
8504
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Karten Kurden
Definition Nominativ Plural des Substantivs Karte Genitiv Singular des Substantivs Kurde

Where the eye mixes Karten and Kurden

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.

6 ch
Karten
6 ch
Kurden

Look-alike desk: Karten vs Kurden

A purely visual mix-up. Karten ([ˈkaʁtn̩]) and Kurden ([ˈkʊʁdn̩]) 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 8504, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Karten is recorded at frequency rank #1,559, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈkaʁtn̩]. Kurden is at rank #6,945, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈkʊʁdn̩].

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 8504, this pair ranks #1,984,018 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of Karten vs Kurden

Shared letters: eknr. Private to "Karten": at. Private to "Kurden": du.

"Karten" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC  ·  "Kurden" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Kartenakrten · karetn · karrten · kartenn · kartne · kartten · katren · kkarten
  • Kurdenkkurden · kruden · kudren · kurdden · kurdenn · kurdne · kuredn · kurrden

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "Karten" for "Kurden" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([ˈkaʁtn̩] versus [ˈkʊʁdn̩]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
In ordinary German text, does "Karten" or "Kurden" show up more?
"Karten" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #1,559 in our German list, against #6,945 for "Kurden". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

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 "Karten" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Kurden" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,984,018 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Karten" and "Kurden" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "kucken vs Kurden". 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 #1,984,018 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