Which to use
“Klemm” is a name and “krumm” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #31,124
- “Klemm” frequency rank
- #24,416
- “krumm” frequency rank
- 55540
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | Klemm | krumm |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | deutscher Nachname | nicht gerade, sondern mit einer oder mehreren bogenförmigen Abweichungen |
Where the eye mixes Klemm and krumm
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence. Klemm and krumm follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (CCVCC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.
Why the eye confuses Klemm with krumm
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: Klemm is [klɛm] while krumm is [kʁʊm]. 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 (name vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 55540, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
Klemm is recorded at frequency rank #31,124, classified as aname, pronounced [klɛm]. krumm is at rank #24,416, tagged as anadj, pronounced [kʁʊm].
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 55540, this pair ranks #975,607 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of Klemm vs krumm
Shared letters: km. Private to "Klemm": el. Private to "krumm": ru.
"Klemm" · 5 letters · shape CCVCC · "krumm" · 5 letters · shape CCVCC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "Klemm" and "krumm" be used interchangeably?
In ordinary German text, does "Klemm" or "krumm" show up more?
Useful next steps
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "Klemm" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "krumm" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #975,607 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "Klemm" and "krumm" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "klebe vs Klemm". 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 #975,607 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.