killenvskilltConfusable pair

Which to use

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

#35,268
“killen” frequency rank
#46,067
“killt” frequency rank
81335
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature killen killt
Definition töten 2. Person Plural Imperativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs killen

Where the eye mixes killen and killt

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

6 ch
killen
5 ch
killt

Why the eye confuses killen with killt

A purely visual mix-up. killen ([ˈkɪlən]) and killt ([kɪlt]) 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 81335, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

killen is recorded at frequency rank #35,268, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈkɪlən]. killt is at rank #46,067, tagged as averb, pronounced [kɪlt].

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 81335, this pair ranks #177,784 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of killen vs killt

Shared letters: ikl. Private to "killen": en. Private to "killt": t.

"killen" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC  ·  "killt" · 5 letters · shape CVCCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • killenikllen · kileln · kilen · killenn · killne · kkillen · klilen
  • killtikllt · killtt · kilt · kiltl · kkillt · klilt

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "killen" for "killt" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([ˈkɪlən] versus [kɪlt]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
In ordinary German text, does "killen" or "killt" show up more?
"killen" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #35,268 in our German list, against #46,067 for "killt". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.

  • Full dictionary entry for "killen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "killt" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #177,784 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "killen" and "killt" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "killt 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 #177,784 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