Which to use
“klein” is an adjective and “Kleve” is a name - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #995
- “klein” frequency rank
- #19,625
- “Kleve” frequency rank
- 20620
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | klein | Kleve |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | von geringem Ausmaß | eine Stadt in Nordrhein-Westfalen, Deutschland |
Where the eye mixes klein and Kleve
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence. klein (CCVVC) and Kleve (CCVCV) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.
Visual trap between klein and Kleve
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: klein is [klaɪ̯n] 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 (adjective vs name), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 20620, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
klein is recorded at frequency rank #995, classified as anadj, pronounced [klaɪ̯n]. 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 20620, this pair ranks #1,895,645 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of klein vs Kleve
Shared letters: ekl. Private to "klein": in. Private to "Kleve": v.
"klein" · 5 letters · shape CCVVC · "Kleve" · 5 letters · shape CCVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "klein" and "Kleve" be used interchangeably?
Frequency check: "klein" vs "Kleve" - which ranks higher?
What to do next
Eye-level mix-up between "klein" and "Kleve" 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 "Kleve" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,895,645 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "klein" and "Kleve" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "kläre vs Kleve". 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 #1,895,645 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.