KellevsKeuleTell them apart

Which to use

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

#36,441
“Kelle” frequency rank
#22,396
“Keule” frequency rank
58837
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Kelle Keule
Definition ein Schöpflöffel ein Werkzeug oder Schlagwaffe, bestehend aus einem Griff und einem schweren Ende

Where the eye mixes Kelle and Keule

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. Kelle (CVCCV) and Keule (CVVCV) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.

5 ch
Kelle
5 ch
Keule

Visual trap between Kelle and Keule

A purely visual mix-up. Kelle ([ˈkɛlə]) and Keule ([ˈkɔɪ̯lə]) 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 a single letter - l in “Kelle” becomes u in “Keule”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 58837, 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]. Keule is at rank #22,396, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈkɔɪ̯lə].

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 58837, this pair ranks #847,420 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of Kelle vs Keule

Shared letters: ekl. Private to "Kelle": -. Private to "Keule": u.

"Kelle" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV  ·  "Keule" · 5 letters · shape CVVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Kelle ← eklle · kelel · kkelle · klele
  • Keule ← ekule · kelue · keuel · keulle · kkeule · kuele

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "Kelle" for "Keule" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([ˈkɛlə] versus [ˈkɔɪ̯lə]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "Kelle" vs "Keule" - which ranks higher?
"Keule" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #22,396 in our German list, against #36,441 for "Kelle". 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 "Kelle" and "Keule" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.

  • Full dictionary entry for "Kelle" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Keule" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #847,420 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Kelle" and "Keule" 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 #847,420 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