Which to use
“Kelle” and “Kette” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #36,441
- “Kelle” frequency rank
- #4,283
- “Kette” frequency rank
- 40724
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | Kelle | Kette |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | ein Schöpflöffel | Reihe aus beweglichen, ineinandergefügten Gliedern |
Where the eye mixes Kelle and Kette
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence. Kelle and Kette follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (CVCCV). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.
Visual trap between Kelle and Kette
A purely visual mix-up. Kelle ([ˈkɛlə]) and Kette ([ˈkɛtə]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 40724, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
Kelle is recorded at frequency rank #36,441, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈkɛlə]. Kette is at rank #4,283, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈkɛtə].
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 40724, this pair ranks #1,500,210 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of Kelle vs Kette
Shared letters: ek. Private to "Kelle": l. Private to "Kette": t.
"Kelle" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV · "Kette" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "Kelle" and "Kette" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Frequency check: "Kelle" vs "Kette" - which ranks higher?
Useful next steps
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "Kelle" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "Kette" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,500,210 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "Kelle" and "Kette" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Kelle vs Kölle". 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 #1,500,210 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.