KlanvsKlaueWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#30,640
“Klan” frequency rank
#38,224
“Klaue” frequency rank
68864
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Klan Klaue
Definition eine Gruppe der schottischen Clangesellschaft Hornteil des Tierfußes, besonders Huf von Wiederkäuern, Kralle von Raubvögeln

Where the eye mixes Klan and Klaue

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence. Klan runs 4 letters (CCVC) against Klaue's 5 (CCVVV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

4 ch
Klan
5 ch
Klaue

Why the eye confuses Klan with Klaue

A purely visual mix-up. Klan ([klaːn]) and Klaue ([ˈklaʊ̯ə]) 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 68864, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Klan is recorded at frequency rank #30,640, classified as anoun, pronounced [klaːn]. Klaue is at rank #38,224, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈklaʊ̯ə].

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 68864, this pair ranks #494,399 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of Klan vs Klaue

Shared letters: akl. Private to "Klan": n. Private to "Klaue": eu.

"Klan" · 4 letters · shape CCVC  ·  "Klaue" · 5 letters · shape CCVVV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Klan ← kaln · kklan · klann · kllan · klna · lkan
  • Klaue ← kalue · kklaue · klaeu · kllaue · kluae · lkaue

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "Klan" for "Klaue" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([klaːn] versus [ˈklaʊ̯ə]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "Klan" or "Klaue"?
"Klan" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #30,640 in our German list, against #38,224 for "Klaue". 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 "Klan" and "Klaue" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.

  • Full dictionary entry for "Klan" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Klaue" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #494,399 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Klan" and "Klaue" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Klaue vs Knaus". 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 #494,399 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