Which to use
“kau” and “kauen” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #41,934
- “kau” frequency rank
- #22,394
- “kauen” frequency rank
- 64328
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | kau | kauen |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | 2. Person Singular Imperativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs kauen | Nahrung mit den Zähnen, durch wiederholtes Öffnen und Schließen der Kiefer, zerkleinern |
Where the eye mixes kau and kauen
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence. kau runs 3 letters (CVV) against kauen's 5 (CVVVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Look-alike desk: kau vs kauen
A purely visual mix-up. kau ([kaʊ̯]) and kauen ([ˈkaʊ̯ən]) 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 2 extra letter(s) - “kau” sits inside “kauen”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 64328, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
kau is recorded at frequency rank #41,934, classified as averb, pronounced [kaʊ̯]. kauen is at rank #22,394, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈkaʊ̯ən].
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 64328, this pair ranks #645,427 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of kau vs kauen
Shared letters: aku. Private to "kau": -. Private to "kauen": en.
"kau" · 3 letters · shape CVV · "kauen" · 5 letters · shape CVVVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- kauen ← akuen · kaeun · kauenn · kaune · kkauen · kuaen
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "kau" for "kauen" ever safe?
In ordinary German text, does "kau" or "kauen" show up more?
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 "kau" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "kauen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #645,427 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "kau" and "kauen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "kau vs KGaA". 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 #645,427 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.