Which to use
“Kilo” and “king” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #4,714
- “Kilo” frequency rank
- #3,384
- “king” frequency rank
- 8098
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | Kilo | king |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Kilogramm | König |
Where the eye mixes Kilo and king
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses Kilo with king
A purely visual mix-up. Kilo ([ˈkiːlo]) and king ([kɪŋ]) 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 8098, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
Kilo is recorded at frequency rank #4,714, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈkiːlo]. king is at rank #3,384, tagged as anoun, pronounced [kɪŋ].
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 8098, this pair ranks #1,985,645 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of Kilo vs king
Shared letters: ik. Private to "Kilo": lo. Private to "king": gn.
"Kilo" · 4 letters · shape CVCV · "king" · 4 letters · shape CVCC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "Kilo" and "king" be used interchangeably?
Frequency check: "Kilo" vs "king" - which ranks higher?
Useful next steps
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "Kilo" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "king" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,985,645 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "Kilo" and "king" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Kilo vs kola". 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 #1,985,645 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.