klarvsklaremWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#257
“klar” frequency rank
#25,196
“klarem” frequency rank
25453
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature klar klarem
Definition frei von Unreinheiten oder generell Störendem Dativ Singular Maskulinum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs klar

Where the eye mixes klar and klarem

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

4 ch
klar
6 ch
klarem

Look-alike desk: klar vs klarem

A purely visual mix-up. klar ([klaːɐ̯]) and klarem ([ˈklaːʁəm]) 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 2 extra letter(s) - “klar” sits inside “klarem”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 25453, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

klar is recorded at frequency rank #257, classified as anadj, pronounced [klaːɐ̯]. klarem is at rank #25,196, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ˈklaːʁəm].

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 25453, this pair ranks #1,833,050 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of klar vs klarem

Shared letters: aklr. Private to "klar": -. Private to "klarem": em.

"klar" · 4 letters · shape CCVC  ·  "klarem" · 6 letters · shape CCVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • klar ← kalr · kklar · klarr · kllar · klra · lkar
  • klarem ← kalrem · kklarem · klaerm · klaremm · klarme · klarrem · kllarem · klraem

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "klar" for "klarem" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([klaːɐ̯] versus [ˈklaːʁəm]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
In ordinary German text, does "klar" or "klarem" show up more?
"klar" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #257 in our German list, against #25,196 for "klarem". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

Useful next steps

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

  • Full dictionary entry for "klar" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "klarem" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,833,050 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "klar" and "klarem" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "klarem vs klärte". 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 #1,833,050 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