Which to use
“Klee” is a noun and “klemme” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #19,623
- “Klee” frequency rank
- #31,125
- “klemme” frequency rank
- 50748
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | Klee | klemme |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | krautige Wiesen- und Futterpflanze, der Gattung Trifolium aus der Familie der Hülsenfrüchtler , mit meist drei-, selten vierteiligen Blättern und kugeligen Blüten | 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs klemmen |
Where the eye mixes Klee and klemme
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. Klee runs 4 letters (CCVV) against klemme's 6 (CCVCCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses Klee with klemme
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: Klee is [kleː] while klemme is [ˈklɛmə]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 2 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 50748, 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]. klemme is at rank #31,125, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈklɛmə].
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 50748, this pair ranks #1,161,987 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of Klee vs klemme
Shared letters: ekl. Private to "Klee": -. Private to "klemme": m.
"Klee" · 4 letters · shape CCVV · "klemme" · 6 letters · shape CCVCCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "Klee" and "klemme" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Which is more common, "Klee" or "klemme"?
What to do next
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "Klee" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "klemme" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,161,987 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "Klee" and "klemme" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "klebe vs klemme". 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 #1,161,987 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.