KlagevsKlaueWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

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

#3,898
“Klage” frequency rank
#38,224
“Klaue” frequency rank
42122
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Klage Klaue
Definition sprachlich gefasste Äußerung unlustvoller Gefühle von Schmerz, Leid oder Trauer, etwa über den Tod eines Menschen Hornteil des Tierfußes, besonders Huf von Wiederkäuern, Kralle von Raubvögeln

Where the eye mixes Klage and Klaue

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. Klage (CCVCV) and Klaue (CCVVV) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.

5 ch
Klage
5 ch
Klaue

Visual trap between Klage and Klaue

A purely visual mix-up. Klage ([ˈklaːɡə]) and Klaue ([ˈklaʊ̯ə]) 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 a single letter - g in “Klage” becomes u in “Klaue”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 42122, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Klage is recorded at frequency rank #3,898, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈklaːɡə]. Klaue is at rank #38,224, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈklaʊ̯ə].

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 42122, this pair ranks #1,458,916 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of Klage vs Klaue

Shared letters: aekl. Private to "Klage": g. Private to "Klaue": u.

"Klage" · 5 letters · shape CCVCV  ·  "Klaue" · 5 letters · shape CCVVV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Klage ← kalge · kklage · klaeg · klagge · klgae · kllage · lkage
  • Klaue ← kalue · kklaue · klaeu · kllaue · kluae · lkaue

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "Klage" for "Klaue" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([ˈklaːɡə] versus [ˈklaʊ̯ə]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "Klage" or "Klaue"?
"Klage" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #3,898 in our German list, against #38,224 for "Klaue". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Useful next steps

Eye-level mix-up between "Klage" and "Klaue" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.

  • Full dictionary entry for "Klage" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Klaue" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,458,916 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Klage" and "Klaue" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Klaue vs Knaus". 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 #1,458,916 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