KlängenvsKlingeTell them apart

Which to use

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

#23,591
“Klängen” frequency rank
#10,678
“Klinge” frequency rank
34269
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Klängen Klinge
Definition Dativ Plural des Substantivs Klang flacher, geschärfter Teil diverser Werkzeuge (zum Beispiel Beil, Sichel, Sense) und Waffen (Messer, Dolch, Axt), welcher die Schneide enthält

Where the eye mixes Klängen and Klinge

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

7 ch
Klängen
6 ch
Klinge

Visual trap between Klängen and Klinge

A purely visual mix-up. Klängen ([ˈklɛŋən]) and Klinge ([ˈklɪŋə]) 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 34269, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Klängen is recorded at frequency rank #23,591, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈklɛŋən]. Klinge is at rank #10,678, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈklɪŋə].

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 34269, this pair ranks #1,667,174 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of Klängen vs Klinge

Shared letters: egkln. Private to "Klängen": ä. Private to "Klinge": i.

"Klängen" · 7 letters · shape CCVCCVC  ·  "Klinge" · 6 letters · shape CCVCCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Klinge ← kilnge · kklinge · kligne · klineg · klingge · klinnge · kllinge · klnige

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "Klängen" and "Klinge" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([ˈklɛŋən] versus [ˈklɪŋə]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
In ordinary German text, does "Klängen" or "Klinge" show up more?
"Klinge" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #10,678 in our German list, against #23,591 for "Klängen". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.

  • Full dictionary entry for "Klängen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Klinge" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,667,174 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Klängen" and "Klinge" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "klagten vs Klängen". 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 #1,667,174 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