KlauevsklauenWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: Klaue is a noun, klauen is a verb, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“Klaue” is a noun and “klauen” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#38,224
“Klaue” frequency rank
#7,076
“klauen” frequency rank
45300
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Klaue klauen
Definition Hornteil des Tierfußes, besonders Huf von Wiederkäuern, Kralle von Raubvögeln etwas entwenden, stehlen

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set Klaue and klauen apart are highlighted. They share 5 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

5 ch
Klaue
6 ch
klauen

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: Klaue is [ˈklaʊ̯ə] while klauen is [ˈklaʊ̯ən]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 extra letter(s) - “Klaue” sits inside “klauen”, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 45300, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Klaue is recorded at frequency rank #38,224, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈklaʊ̯ə]. klauen is at rank #7,076, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈklaʊ̯ən].

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 45300, this pair ranks #1,357,719 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of Klaue vs klauen

Shared letters: aeklu. Private to "Klaue": -. Private to "klauen": n.

"Klaue" · 5 letters · shape CCVVV  ·  "klauen" · 6 letters · shape CCVVVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Klauekalue · kklaue · klaeu · kllaue · kluae · lkaue
  • klauenkaluen · kklauen · klaeun · klauenn · klaune · kllauen · kluaen · lkauen

Frequency comparison

Klaue#38,224
klauen#7,076

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "Klaue" and "klauen" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "Klaue" is a noun and "klauen" a verb, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "Klaue" or "klauen"?
"klauen" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #7,076 in our German list, against #38,224 for "Klaue". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering Klaue vs klauen

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a noun, it's “Klaue”; for a verb, it's “klauen”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “Klaue” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list