Which to use
“Kies” and “Kirmes” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #18,946
- “Kies” frequency rank
- #21,314
- “Kirmes” frequency rank
- 40260
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | Kies | Kirmes |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | lose Gesteinsstücke in einer Korngröße von etwa 3 mm bis 30 mm | Jahrmarkt |
Where the eye mixes Kies and Kirmes
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between Kies and Kirmes
A purely visual mix-up. Kies ([kiːs]) and Kirmes ([ˈkɪʁməs]) 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 2 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 40260, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
Kies is recorded at frequency rank #18,946, classified as anoun, pronounced [kiːs]. Kirmes is at rank #21,314, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈkɪʁməs].
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 40260, this pair ranks #1,513,589 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of Kies vs Kirmes
Shared letters: eiks. Private to "Kies": -. Private to "Kirmes": mr.
"Kies" · 4 letters · shape CVVC · "Kirmes" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "Kies" for "Kirmes" ever safe?
Which is more common, "Kies" or "Kirmes"?
What to do next
Eye-level mix-up between "Kies" and "Kirmes" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "Kies" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "Kirmes" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,513,589 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "Kies" and "Kirmes" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Kies vs Knies". 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 #1,513,589 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.