Which to use
“klein” and “kleinem” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #995
- “klein” frequency rank
- #13,411
- “kleinem” frequency rank
- 14406
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | klein | kleinem |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | von geringem Ausmaß | Dativ Singular Maskulinum Positiv der starken Flexion des Adjektivs klein |
Where the eye mixes klein and kleinem
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. klein runs 5 letters (CCVVC) against kleinem's 7 (CCVVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses klein with kleinem
A purely visual mix-up. klein ([klaɪ̯n]) and kleinem ([ˈklaɪ̯nəm]) 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 2 extra letter(s) - “klein” sits inside “kleinem”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 14406, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
klein is recorded at frequency rank #995, classified as anadj, pronounced [klaɪ̯n]. kleinem is at rank #13,411, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ˈklaɪ̯nəm].
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 14406, this pair ranks #1,951,426 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of klein vs kleinem
Shared letters: eikln. Private to "klein": -. Private to "kleinem": m.
"klein" · 5 letters · shape CCVVC · "kleinem" · 7 letters · shape CCVVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "klein" and "kleinem" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "klein" or "kleinem"?
After this comparison
Eye-level mix-up between "klein" and "kleinem" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "klein" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "kleinem" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,951,426 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "klein" and "kleinem" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "kleinem vs kleinerem". 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 #1,951,426 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.