Which to use
“kling” is a verb and “Klinge” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #24,403
- “kling” frequency rank
- #10,678
- “Klinge” frequency rank
- 35081
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | kling | Klinge |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | 2. Person Singular Imperativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs klingen | flacher, geschärfter Teil diverser Werkzeuge (zum Beispiel Beil, Sichel, Sense) und Waffen (Messer, Dolch, Axt), welcher die Schneide enthält |
Where the eye mixes kling and Klinge
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. kling runs 5 letters (CCVCC) against Klinge's 6 (CCVCCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses kling with Klinge
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: kling is [klɪŋ] while Klinge is [ˈklɪŋə]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 extra letter(s) - “kling” sits inside “Klinge”, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 35081, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
kling is recorded at frequency rank #24,403, classified as averb, pronounced [klɪŋ]. Klinge is at rank #10,678, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈklɪŋə].
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 35081, this pair ranks #1,648,549 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of kling vs Klinge
Shared letters: gikln. Private to "kling": -. Private to "Klinge": e.
"kling" · 5 letters · shape CCVCC · "Klinge" · 6 letters · shape CCVCCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "kling" and "Klinge" mean the same thing in a sentence?
In ordinary German text, does "kling" or "Klinge" show up more?
After this comparison
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "kling" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "Klinge" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,648,549 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "kling" and "Klinge" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Kang vs kling". 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 #1,648,549 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.