klarvsKlosWhich spelling fits?

Quick tell: klar is a adjective, Klos is a noun, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“klar” is an adjective and “Klos” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#257
“klar” frequency rank
#29,193
“Klos” frequency rank
29450
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature klar Klos
Definition frei von Unreinheiten oder generell Störendem Genitiv Singular des Substantivs Klo

Where the eye mixes klar and Klos

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.

4 ch
klar
4 ch
Klos

Visual trap between klar and Klos

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: klar is [klaːɐ̯] while Klos is [kloːs]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (adjective vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 29450, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

klar is recorded at frequency rank #257, classified as anadj, pronounced [klaːɐ̯]. Klos is at rank #29,193, tagged as anoun, pronounced [kloːs].

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 29450, this pair ranks #1,766,580 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of klar vs Klos

Shared letters: kl. Private to "klar": ar. Private to "Klos": os.

"klar" · 4 letters · shape CCVC  ·  "Klos" · 4 letters · shape CCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • klarkalr · kklar · klarr · kllar · klra · lkar
  • Kloskklos · kllos · kloss · klso · kols · lkos

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "klar" and "Klos" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "klar" is an adjective and "Klos" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
In ordinary German text, does "klar" or "Klos" show up more?
"klar" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #257 in our German list, against #29,193 for "Klos". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

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 "klar" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Klos" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,766,580 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "klar" and "Klos" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Klos vs Koi". 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 #1,766,580 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