Which to use
“Klaue” is a noun and “Kleve” is a name - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #38,224
- “Klaue” frequency rank
- #19,625
- “Kleve” frequency rank
- 57849
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | Klaue | Kleve |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Hornteil des Tierfußes, besonders Huf von Wiederkäuern, Kralle von Raubvögeln | eine Stadt in Nordrhein-Westfalen, Deutschland |
Where the eye mixes Klaue and Kleve
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence. Klaue (CCVVV) and Kleve (CCVCV) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.
Why the eye confuses Klaue with Kleve
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: Klaue is [ˈklaʊ̯ə] while Kleve is [ˈkleːvə]. 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 (noun vs name), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 57849, 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]. Kleve is at rank #19,625, tagged as aname, pronounced [ˈkleːvə].
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 57849, this pair ranks #885,383 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of Klaue vs Kleve
Shared letters: ekl. Private to "Klaue": au. Private to "Kleve": v.
"Klaue" · 5 letters · shape CCVVV · "Kleve" · 5 letters · shape CCVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "Klaue" for "Kleve" ever safe?
In ordinary German text, does "Klaue" or "Kleve" show up more?
What to do next
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "Klaue" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "Kleve" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #885,383 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "Klaue" and "Kleve" 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 #885,383 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.