kippenvskloppenWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#10,505
“kippen” frequency rank
#43,290
“kloppen” frequency rank
53795
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature kippen kloppen
Definition etwas schräg stellen, in Schräglage bringen schlagen

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set kippen and kloppen apart are highlighted. They share 5 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

6 ch
kippen
7 ch
kloppen

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. kippen ([ˈkɪpn̩]) and kloppen ([ˈklɔpn̩]) 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 53795, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

kippen is recorded at frequency rank #10,505, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈkɪpn̩]. kloppen is at rank #43,290, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈklɔpn̩].

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 53795, this pair ranks #1,043,953 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of kippen vs kloppen

Shared letters: eknp. Private to "kippen": i. Private to "kloppen": lo.

"kippen" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC  ·  "kloppen" · 7 letters · shape CCVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • kippenikppen · kipen · kipepn · kippenn · kippne · kkippen · kpipen
  • kloppenkkloppen · klloppen · klopen · klopepn · kloppenn · kloppne · klpopen · kolppen

Frequency comparison

kippen#10,505
kloppen#43,290

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "kippen" and "kloppen" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ˈkɪpn̩] versus [ˈklɔpn̩]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "kippen" or "kloppen"?
"kippen" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #10,505 in our German list, against #43,290 for "kloppen". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering kippen vs kloppen

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Read both glosses above and match the meaning you intend, only context separates this pair.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “kippen” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list