Which to use
“Klee” is a noun and “kleine” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #19,623
- “Klee” frequency rank
- #340
- “kleine” frequency rank
- 19963
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | Klee | kleine |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | krautige Wiesen- und Futterpflanze, der Gattung Trifolium aus der Familie der Hülsenfrüchtler , mit meist drei-, selten vierteiligen Blättern und kugeligen Blüten | Nominativ Singular Femininum Positiv der starken Flexion des Adjektivs klein |
Where the spellings diverge
Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set Klee and kleine apart are highlighted. They share 4 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
Klee and kleine form a confusable pair in the German index, two distinct headwords that are easily confused because they look alike, sound alike, or both. They differ by 2 letter(s) in length - close enough that the eye skips over the difference, far enough that meaning fully diverges. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 19963, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
Klee is recorded at frequency rank #19,623, classified as anoun, pronounced [kleː]. kleine is at rank #340, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ˈklaɪ̯nə].
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 19963, this pair ranks #1,902,774 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Frequency comparison
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "Klee" and "kleine" be used interchangeably?
Remembering Klee vs kleine
The fastest way to pick the right one every time.
- Check the role first: if you need a noun, it's “Klee”; for an adjective, it's “kleine”.
- See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “Klee” entry
- Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable