KeltenvsKetteWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#30,634
“Kelten” frequency rank
#4,283
“Kette” frequency rank
34917
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Kelten Kette
Definition eine Volksgruppe der europäischen Antike bis zur Eisenzeit Reihe aus beweglichen, ineinandergefügten Gliedern

Where the eye mixes Kelten and Kette

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.

6 ch
Kelten
5 ch
Kette

Why the eye confuses Kelten with Kette

A purely visual mix-up. Kelten ([ˈkɛltn̩]) 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 differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 34917, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Kelten is recorded at frequency rank #30,634, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈkɛltn̩]. 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 34917, this pair ranks #1,652,299 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of Kelten vs Kette

Shared letters: ekt. Private to "Kelten": ln. Private to "Kette": -.

"Kelten" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC  ·  "Kette" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Kelteneklten · keletn · kellten · keltenn · keltne · keltten · ketlen · kkelten
  • Ketteektte · kete · ketet · kkette · ktete

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "Kelten" and "Kette" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ˈkɛltn̩] versus [ˈkɛtə]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "Kelten" vs "Kette" - which ranks higher?
"Kette" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #4,283 in our German list, against #30,634 for "Kelten". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Useful next steps

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

  • Full dictionary entry for "Kelten" 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 #1,652,299 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Kelten" and "Kette" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Kelten vs kitten". 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 #1,652,299 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