KlängenvsKragenWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#23,591
“Klängen” frequency rank
#10,682
“Kragen” frequency rank
34273
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Klängen Kragen
Definition Dativ Plural des Substantivs Klang den Hals einfassendes Teil der Kleidung

Where the eye mixes Klängen and Kragen

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. Klängen runs 7 letters (CCVCCVC) against Kragen's 6 (CCVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

7 ch
Klängen
6 ch
Kragen

Visual trap between Klängen and Kragen

A purely visual mix-up. Klängen ([ˈklɛŋən]) and Kragen ([ˈkʁaːɡn̩]) 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 34273, 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]. Kragen is at rank #10,682, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈkʁaːɡn̩].

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 34273, this pair ranks #1,667,097 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of Klängen vs Kragen

Shared letters: egkn. Private to "Klängen": lä. Private to "Kragen": ar.

"Klängen" · 7 letters · shape CCVCCVC  ·  "Kragen" · 6 letters · shape CCVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Kragen ← kkragen · kraegn · kragenn · kraggen · kragne · krgaen · krragen · rkagen

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "Klängen" and "Kragen" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([ˈklɛŋən] versus [ˈkʁaːɡn̩]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
In ordinary German text, does "Klängen" or "Kragen" show up more?
"Kragen" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #10,682 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

Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.

  • Full dictionary entry for "Klängen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Kragen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,667,097 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Klängen" and "Kragen" 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 #1,667,097 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