Which to use
“kling” is a verb and “klug” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #24,403
- “kling” frequency rank
- #5,727
- “klug” frequency rank
- 30130
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | kling | klug |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | 2. Person Singular Imperativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs klingen | mit scharfem Verstand und logischem Denkvermögen ausgestattet; mit gut entwickelter Denkfähigkeit |
Where the eye mixes kling and klug
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: kling vs klug
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: kling is [klɪŋ] while klug is [kluːk]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 30130, 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]. klug is at rank #5,727, tagged as anadj, pronounced [kluːk].
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 30130, this pair ranks #1,753,827 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of kling vs klug
Shared letters: gkl. Private to "kling": in. Private to "klug": u.
"kling" · 5 letters · shape CCVCC · "klug" · 4 letters · shape CCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "kling" and "klug" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "kling" or "klug"?
What to do next
Eye-level mix-up between "kling" and "klug" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "kling" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "klug" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,753,827 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "kling" and "klug" 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 #1,753,827 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.