KlanvsKlausTell them apart

Which to use

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

#30,640
“Klan” frequency rank
#1,775
“Klaus” frequency rank
32415
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Klan Klaus
Definition eine Gruppe der schottischen Clangesellschaft meist an eine Synagoge angeschlossenes Lehrhaus oder angeschlossene Schule, in der Juden ihre Tora- und Talmudstudien betreiben können

Where the eye mixes Klan and Klaus

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

4 ch
Klan
5 ch
Klaus

Look-alike desk: Klan vs Klaus

A purely visual mix-up. Klan ([klaːn]) and Klaus ([klaʊ̯s]) 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 32415, 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]. Klaus is at rank #1,775, tagged as anoun, pronounced [klaʊ̯s].

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 32415, this pair ranks #1,708,056 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of Klan vs Klaus

Shared letters: akl. Private to "Klan": n. Private to "Klaus": su.

"Klan" · 4 letters · shape CCVC  ·  "Klaus" · 5 letters · shape CCVVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Klan ← kaln · kklan · klann · kllan · klna · lkan
  • Klaus ← kalus · kklaus · klasu · klauss · kllaus · kluas · lkaus

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "Klan" for "Klaus" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([klaːn] versus [klaʊ̯s]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "Klan" vs "Klaus" - which ranks higher?
"Klaus" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #1,775 in our German list, against #30,640 for "Klan". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

What to do next

Eye-level mix-up between "Klan" and "Klaus" 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 "Klaus" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,708,056 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Klan" and "Klaus" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Klan vs kola". 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 #1,708,056 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