Which to use
“kau” is a verb and “kun” is a preposition - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #41,934
- “kau” frequency rank
- #35,882
- “kun” frequency rank
- 77816
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | kau | kun |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | 2. Person Singular Imperativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs kauen | mit |
Where the eye mixes kau and kun
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence. kau (CVV) and kun (CVC) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.
Look-alike desk: kau vs kun
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: kau is [kaʊ̯] while kun is [kun]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs preposition), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 77816, 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]. kun is at rank #35,882, tagged as aprep, pronounced [kun].
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 77816, this pair ranks #252,240 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of kau vs kun
Shared letters: ku. Private to "kau": a. Private to "kun": n.
"kau" · 3 letters · shape CVV · "kun" · 3 letters · shape CVC
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "kau" for "kun" ever safe?
Frequency check: "kau" vs "kun" - which ranks higher?
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 "kun" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #252,240 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "kau" and "kun" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "kau vs KGaA". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #252,240 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.