klagtenvsKlängenConfusable pair

Quick tell: klagten is a verb, Klängen is a noun, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“klagten” is a verb and “Klängen” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#45,387
“klagten” frequency rank
#23,591
“Klängen” frequency rank
68978
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature klagten Klängen
Definition 1. Person Plural Indikativ Präteritum Aktiv des Verbs klagen Dativ Plural des Substantivs Klang

Where the eye mixes klagten and Klängen

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. klagten and Klängen follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (CCVCCVC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.

7 ch
klagten
7 ch
Klängen

Why the eye confuses klagten with Klängen

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: klagten is [ˈklaːktn̩] while Klängen is [ˈklɛŋən]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 3 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 68978, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

klagten is recorded at frequency rank #45,387, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈklaːktn̩]. Klängen is at rank #23,591, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈklɛŋən].

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 68978, this pair ranks #490,906 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of klagten vs Klängen

Shared letters: egkln. Private to "klagten": at. Private to "Klängen": ä.

"klagten" · 7 letters · shape CCVCCVC  ·  "Klängen" · 7 letters · shape CCVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • klagten ← kalgten · kklagten · klagetn · klaggten · klagtenn · klagtne · klagtten · klatgen

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "klagten" and "Klängen" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "klagten" is a verb and "Klängen" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Frequency check: "klagten" vs "Klängen" - which ranks higher?
"Klängen" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #23,591 in our German list, against #45,387 for "klagten". 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 "klagten" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Klängen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #490,906 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "klagten" and "Klängen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "klagten 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 #490,906 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