KilovsKlonWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#4,714
“Kilo” frequency rank
#27,810
“Klon” frequency rank
32524
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Kilo Klon
Definition Kilogramm Biologie, Genetik: Gesamtheit aller genetisch identischen Kopien eines Individuums

Where the eye mixes Kilo and Klon

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.

4 ch
Kilo
4 ch
Klon

Why the eye confuses Kilo with Klon

A purely visual mix-up. Kilo ([ˈkiːlo]) and Klon ([kloːn]) 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 3 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 32524, 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]. Klon is at rank #27,810, tagged as anoun, pronounced [kloːn].

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 32524, this pair ranks #1,705,758 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of Kilo vs Klon

Shared letters: klo. Private to "Kilo": i. Private to "Klon": n.

"Kilo" · 4 letters · shape CVCV  ·  "Klon" · 4 letters · shape CCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Kiloiklo · killo · kiol · kkilo · klio
  • Klonkklon · kllon · klno · klonn · koln · lkon

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "Kilo" and "Klon" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ˈkiːlo] versus [kloːn]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "Kilo" or "Klon"?
"Kilo" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #4,714 in our German list, against #27,810 for "Klon". 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 "Kilo" and "Klon" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.

  • Full dictionary entry for "Kilo" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Klon" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,705,758 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Kilo" and "Klon" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Klon vs krönt". 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 #1,705,758 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