KlassevsKlaueWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#600
“Klasse” frequency rank
#38,224
“Klaue” frequency rank
38824
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Klasse Klaue
Definition Gruppe gleichartiger Elemente Hornteil des Tierfußes, besonders Huf von Wiederkäuern, Kralle von Raubvögeln

Where the eye mixes Klasse and Klaue

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. Klasse runs 6 letters (CCVCCV) against Klaue's 5 (CCVVV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

6 ch
Klasse
5 ch
Klaue

Why the eye confuses Klasse with Klaue

A purely visual mix-up. Klasse ([ˈklasə]) and Klaue ([ˈklaʊ̯ə]) 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 38824, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Klasse is recorded at frequency rank #600, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈklasə]. Klaue is at rank #38,224, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈklaʊ̯ə].

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 38824, this pair ranks #1,553,644 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of Klasse vs Klaue

Shared letters: aekl. Private to "Klasse": s. Private to "Klaue": u.

"Klasse" · 6 letters · shape CCVCCV  ·  "Klaue" · 5 letters · shape CCVVV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Klasse ← kalsse · kklasse · klase · klases · klaße · kllasse · klsase · lkasse
  • Klaue ← kalue · kklaue · klaeu · kllaue · kluae · lkaue

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "Klasse" and "Klaue" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([ˈklasə] versus [ˈklaʊ̯ə]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "Klasse" or "Klaue"?
"Klasse" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #600 in our German list, against #38,224 for "Klaue". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

Useful next steps

Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.

  • Full dictionary entry for "Klasse" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Klaue" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,553,644 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Klasse" and "Klaue" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Klaue vs Knaus". 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 #1,553,644 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