Which to use
“klagen” is a verb and “kluges” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #4,212
- “klagen” frequency rank
- #40,035
- “kluges” frequency rank
- 44247
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | klagen | kluges |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | einen Verlust bejammern | Nominativ Singular Neutrum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs klug |
Where the eye mixes klagen and kluges
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. klagen and kluges follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (CCVCVC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.
Why the eye confuses klagen with kluges
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: klagen is [ˈklaːɡn̩] while kluges is [ˈkluːɡəs]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 44247, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
klagen is recorded at frequency rank #4,212, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈklaːɡn̩]. kluges is at rank #40,035, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ˈkluːɡəs].
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 44247, this pair ranks #1,392,256 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of klagen vs kluges
Shared letters: egkl. Private to "klagen": an. Private to "kluges": su.
"klagen" · 6 letters · shape CCVCVC · "kluges" · 6 letters · shape CCVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "klagen" and "kluges" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Frequency check: "klagen" vs "kluges" - which ranks higher?
What to do next
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "klagen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "kluges" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,392,256 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "klagen" and "kluges" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Klägers vs kluges". 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 #1,392,256 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.