KlängenvsklingenConfusable pair

Quick tell: Klängen is a noun, klingen is a verb, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“Klängen” is a noun and “klingen” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#23,591
“Klängen” frequency rank
#4,715
“klingen” frequency rank
28306
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Klängen klingen
Definition Dativ Plural des Substantivs Klang einen glockenartigen Ton von sich geben

Where the eye mixes Klängen and klingen

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. Klängen and klingen follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (CCVCCVC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.

7 ch
Klängen
7 ch
klingen

Look-alike desk: Klängen vs klingen

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: Klängen is [ˈklɛŋən] while klingen is [ˈklɪŋən]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by a single letter - ä in “Klängen” becomes i in “klingen”, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 28306, 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]. klingen is at rank #4,715, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈklɪŋən].

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 28306, this pair ranks #1,787,117 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of Klängen vs klingen

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

"Klängen" · 7 letters · shape CCVCCVC  ·  "klingen" · 7 letters · shape CCVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • klingen ← kilngen · kklingen · klignen · klinegn · klingenn · klinggen · klingne · klinngen

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "Klängen" and "klingen" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "Klängen" is a noun and "klingen" a verb, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "Klängen" or "klingen"?
"klingen" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #4,715 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

Eye-level mix-up between "Klängen" and "klingen" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.

  • Full dictionary entry for "Klängen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "klingen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,787,117 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Klängen" and "klingen" 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 #1,787,117 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