KeimenvsKlemmenWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#33,144
“Keimen” frequency rank
#29,657
“Klemmen” frequency rank
62801
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Keimen Klemmen
Definition Dativ Plural des Substantivs Keim Nominativ Plural des Substantivs Klemme

Where the eye mixes Keimen and Klemmen

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. Keimen runs 6 letters (CVVCVC) against Klemmen's 7 (CCVCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

6 ch
Keimen
7 ch
Klemmen

Why the eye confuses Keimen with Klemmen

A purely visual mix-up. Keimen ([ˈkaɪ̯mən]) and Klemmen ([ˈklɛmən]) 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 62801, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Keimen is recorded at frequency rank #33,144, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈkaɪ̯mən]. Klemmen is at rank #29,657, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈklɛmən].

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 62801, this pair ranks #699,723 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of Keimen vs Klemmen

Shared letters: ekmn. Private to "Keimen": i. Private to "Klemmen": l.

"Keimen" · 6 letters · shape CVVCVC  ·  "Klemmen" · 7 letters · shape CCVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Keimenekimen · keiemn · keimenn · keimmen · keimne · kemien · kiemen · kkeimen
  • Klemmenkelmmen · kklemmen · klememn · klemen · klemmenn · klemmne · kllemmen · klmemen

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "Keimen" and "Klemmen" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ˈkaɪ̯mən] versus [ˈklɛmən]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "Keimen" or "Klemmen"?
"Klemmen" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #29,657 in our German list, against #33,144 for "Keimen". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

Eye-level mix-up between "Keimen" and "Klemmen" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.

  • Full dictionary entry for "Keimen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Klemmen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #699,723 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Keimen" and "Klemmen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Keimen vs kneifen". 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 #699,723 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