KlammervsKlemmenWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

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

#20,312
“Klammer” frequency rank
#29,657
“Klemmen” frequency rank
49969
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Klammer Klemmen
Definition kleines Gerät aus Metall, Holz oder Kunststoff zum vorübergehenden Zusammenhalten oder Befestigen von Gegenständen Nominativ Plural des Substantivs Klemme

Where the eye mixes Klammer and Klemmen

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

7 ch
Klammer
7 ch
Klemmen

Why the eye confuses Klammer with Klemmen

A purely visual mix-up. Klammer ([ˈklamɐ]) and Klemmen ([ˈklɛmən]) 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 49969, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Klammer is recorded at frequency rank #20,312, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈklamɐ]. Klemmen is at rank #29,657, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈklɛmən].

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 49969, this pair ranks #1,191,574 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of Klammer vs Klemmen

Shared letters: eklm. Private to "Klammer": ar. Private to "Klemmen": n.

"Klammer" · 7 letters · shape CCVCCVC  ·  "Klemmen" · 7 letters · shape CCVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Klammerkalmmer · kklammer · klamemr · klamer · klammerr · klammre · kllammer · klmamer
  • Klemmenkelmmen · kklemmen · klememn · klemen · klemmenn · klemmne · kllemmen · klmemen

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "Klammer" and "Klemmen" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([ˈklamɐ] versus [ˈklɛmən]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
In ordinary German text, does "Klammer" or "Klemmen" show up more?
"Klammer" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #20,312 in our German list, against #29,657 for "Klemmen". 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 "Klammer" and "Klemmen" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.

  • Full dictionary entry for "Klammer" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Klemmen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,191,574 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Klammer" and "Klemmen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "kämmen vs Klemmen". 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 #1,191,574 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