KegelvsKesselWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

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

#18,597
“Kegel” frequency rank
#10,882
“Kessel” frequency rank
29479
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Kegel Kessel
Definition Körper mit Kreisscheibe als Basis, in einer Spitze auslaufend großes metallisches offenes Gefäß

Where the eye mixes Kegel and Kessel

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. Kegel runs 5 letters (CVCVC) against Kessel's 6 (CVCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

5 ch
Kegel
6 ch
Kessel

Look-alike desk: Kegel vs Kessel

A purely visual mix-up. Kegel ([ˈkeːɡl̩]) and Kessel ([ˈkɛsl̩]) 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 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 29479, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Kegel is recorded at frequency rank #18,597, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈkeːɡl̩]. Kessel is at rank #10,882, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈkɛsl̩].

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 29479, this pair ranks #1,766,073 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of Kegel vs Kessel

Shared letters: ekl. Private to "Kegel": g. Private to "Kessel": s.

"Kegel" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC  ·  "Kessel" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Kegel ← ekgel · keegl · kegell · keggel · kegle · kgeel · kkegel
  • Kessel ← ekssel · kesel · kesesl · kessell · kessle · keßel · kkessel · ksesel

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "Kegel" and "Kessel" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([ˈkeːɡl̩] versus [ˈkɛsl̩]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "Kegel" or "Kessel"?
"Kessel" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #10,882 in our German list, against #18,597 for "Kegel". 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 "Kegel" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Kessel" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,766,073 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Kegel" and "Kessel" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Kegel vs kegeln". 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 #1,766,073 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