kehrvsklarWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: kehr is a verb, klar is an adjective, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“kehr” is a verb and “klar” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#36,440
“kehr” frequency rank
#257
“klar” frequency rank
36697
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature kehr klar
Definition 2. Person Singular Imperativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs kehren frei von Unreinheiten oder generell Störendem

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set kehr and klar apart are highlighted. They share 2 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

4 ch
kehr
4 ch
klar

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: kehr is [keːɐ̯] while klar is [klaːɐ̯]. 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 adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 36697, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

kehr is recorded at frequency rank #36,440, classified as averb, pronounced [keːɐ̯]. klar is at rank #257, tagged as anadj, pronounced [klaːɐ̯].

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 36697, this pair ranks #1,608,961 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of kehr vs klar

Shared letters: kr. Private to "kehr": eh. Private to "klar": al.

"kehr" · 4 letters · shape CVCC  ·  "klar" · 4 letters · shape CCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • kehrekhr · kehhr · kehrr · kerh · kher · kkehr
  • klarkalr · kklar · klarr · kllar · klra · lkar

Frequency comparison

kehr#36,440
klar#257

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "kehr" and "klar" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "kehr" is a verb and "klar" an adjective, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "kehr" or "klar"?
"klar" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #257 in our German list, against #36,440 for "kehr". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

Remembering kehr vs klar

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a verb, it's “kehr”; for an adjective, it's “klar”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “kehr” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list