klagtenvsklärteTell them apart

Which to use

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

#45,387
“klagten” frequency rank
#45,390
“klärte” frequency rank
90777
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

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

Where the eye mixes klagten and klärte

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. klagten runs 7 letters (CCVCCVC) against klärte's 6 (CCVCCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

7 ch
klagten
6 ch
klärte

Why the eye confuses klagten with klärte

A purely visual mix-up. klagten ([ˈklaːktn̩]) 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 differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 90777, 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]. 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 90777, this pair ranks #43,814 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of klagten vs klärte

Shared letters: eklt. Private to "klagten": agn. Private to "klärte": rä.

"klagten" · 7 letters · shape CCVCCVC  ·  "klärte" · 6 letters · shape CCVCCV

Known mistypes of this pair

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

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "klagten" for "klärte" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([ˈklaːktn̩] versus [ˈklɛːɐ̯tə]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
In ordinary German text, does "klagten" or "klärte" show up more?
"klagten" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #45,387 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.

What to do next

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

  • Full dictionary entry for "klagten" 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 #43,814 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "klagten" 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 #43,814 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