klagtevsklärteTell them apart

Which to use

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

#18,599
“klagte” frequency rank
#45,390
“klärte” frequency rank
63989
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

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

Where the eye mixes klagte and klärte

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. klagte and klärte follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (CCVCCV). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.

6 ch
klagte
6 ch
klärte

Why the eye confuses klagte with klärte

A purely visual mix-up. klagte ([ˈklaːktə]) and klärte ([ˈklɛːɐ̯tə]) 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 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 63989, 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]. klärte is at rank #45,390, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈklɛːɐ̯tə].

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 63989, this pair ranks #657,254 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of klagte vs klärte

Shared letters: eklt. Private to "klagte": ag. Private to "klärte": rä.

"klagte" · 6 letters · shape CCVCCV  ·  "klärte" · 6 letters · shape CCVCCV

Known mistypes of this pair

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

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "klagte" and "klärte" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ˈklaːktə] versus [ˈklɛːɐ̯tə]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
In ordinary German text, does "klagte" or "klärte" show up more?
"klagte" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #18,599 in our German list, against #45,390 for "klärte". 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 "klagte" and "klärte" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.

  • Full dictionary entry for "klagte" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "klärte" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #657,254 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "klagte" and "klärte" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "karge vs klärte". 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 #657,254 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