klagtevskläreConfusable pair

Which to use

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

#18,599
“klagte” frequency rank
#44,735
“kläre” frequency rank
63334
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature klagte kläre
Definition 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präteritum Aktiv des Verbs klagen 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs klären

Where the eye mixes klagte and kläre

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence. klagte runs 6 letters (CCVCCV) against kläre's 5 (CCVCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

6 ch
klagte
5 ch
kläre

Visual trap between klagte and kläre

A purely visual mix-up. klagte ([ˈklaːktə]) and kläre ([ˈklɛːʁə]) 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 63334, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

klagte is recorded at frequency rank #18,599, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈklaːktə]. kläre is at rank #44,735, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈklɛːʁə].

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 63334, this pair ranks #680,409 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of klagte vs kläre

Shared letters: ekl. Private to "klagte": agt. Private to "kläre": rä.

"klagte" · 6 letters · shape CCVCCV  ·  "kläre" · 5 letters · shape CCVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • klagte ← kalgte · kklagte · klaget · klaggte · klagtte · klatge · klgate · kllagte

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "klagte" and "kläre" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([ˈklaːktə] versus [ˈklɛːʁə]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "klagte" vs "kläre" - which ranks higher?
"klagte" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #18,599 in our German list, against #44,735 for "kläre". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.

  • Full dictionary entry for "klagte" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "kläre" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #680,409 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "klagte" and "kläre" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "karge vs kläre". 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 #680,409 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