klaresvsklugesWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

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

#8,736
“klares” frequency rank
#40,035
“kluges” frequency rank
48771
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature klares kluges
Definition Nominativ Singular Neutrum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs klar Nominativ Singular Neutrum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs klug

Where the eye mixes klares and kluges

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. klares and kluges follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (CCVCVC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.

6 ch
klares
6 ch
kluges

Visual trap between klares and kluges

A purely visual mix-up. klares ([ˈklaːʁəs]) and kluges ([ˈkluːɡəs]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 48771, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

klares is recorded at frequency rank #8,736, classified as anadj, pronounced [ˈklaːʁəs]. kluges is at rank #40,035, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ˈkluːɡəs].

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 48771, this pair ranks #1,236,251 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of klares vs kluges

Shared letters: ekls. Private to "klares": ar. Private to "kluges": gu.

"klares" · 6 letters · shape CCVCVC  ·  "kluges" · 6 letters · shape CCVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • klares ← kalres · kklares · klaers · klaress · klarres · klarse · kllares · klraes
  • kluges ← kkluges · klgues · klluges · kluegs · klugess · klugges · klugse · kulges

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "klares" and "kluges" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([ˈklaːʁəs] versus [ˈkluːɡəs]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "klares" or "kluges"?
"klares" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #8,736 in our German list, against #40,035 for "kluges". 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 "klares" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "kluges" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,236,251 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "klares" and "kluges" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Klägers vs kluges". 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 #1,236,251 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