klagtenvsklugenWhich spelling fits?

Quick tell: klagten is a verb, klugen is an adjective, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

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

#45,387
“klagten” frequency rank
#17,633
“klugen” frequency rank
63020
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature klagten klugen
Definition 1. Person Plural Indikativ Präteritum Aktiv des Verbs klagen Genitiv Singular Maskulinum der starken Flexion des Adjektivs klug

Where the eye mixes klagten and klugen

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. klagten runs 7 letters (CCVCCVC) against klugen's 6 (CCVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

7 ch
klagten
6 ch
klugen

Visual trap between klagten and klugen

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: klagten is [ˈklaːktn̩] while klugen is [ˈkluːɡn̩]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 63020, 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]. klugen is at rank #17,633, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ˈkluːɡn̩].

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 63020, this pair ranks #691,690 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of klagten vs klugen

Shared letters: egkln. Private to "klagten": at. Private to "klugen": u.

"klagten" · 7 letters · shape CCVCCVC  ·  "klugen" · 6 letters · shape CCVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • klagten ← kalgten · kklagten · klagetn · klaggten · klagtenn · klagtne · klagtten · klatgen
  • klugen ← kklugen · klguen · kllugen · kluegn · klugenn · kluggen · klugne · kulgen

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "klagten" and "klugen" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "klagten" is a verb and "klugen" an adjective, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Frequency check: "klagten" vs "klugen" - which ranks higher?
"klugen" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #17,633 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.

After this comparison

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 "klugen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #691,690 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "klagten" and "klugen" 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 #691,690 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