Which to use
“Klinge” is a noun and “klingeln” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #10,678
- “Klinge” frequency rank
- #12,519
- “klingeln” frequency rank
- 23197
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | Klinge | klingeln |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | flacher, geschärfter Teil diverser Werkzeuge (zum Beispiel Beil, Sichel, Sense) und Waffen (Messer, Dolch, Axt), welcher die Schneide enthält | etwas schrillen lassen, sehr häufig die Klingel an einem Eingang |
Where the eye mixes Klinge and klingeln
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. Klinge runs 6 letters (CCVCCV) against klingeln's 8 (CCVCCVCC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Look-alike desk: Klinge vs klingeln
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: Klinge is [ˈklɪŋə] while klingeln is [ˈklɪŋl̩n]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 2 extra letter(s) - “Klinge” sits inside “klingeln”, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 23197, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
Klinge is recorded at frequency rank #10,678, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈklɪŋə]. klingeln is at rank #12,519, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈklɪŋl̩n].
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 23197, this pair ranks #1,864,493 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of Klinge vs klingeln
Shared letters: egikln. Private to "Klinge": -. Private to "klingeln": -.
"Klinge" · 6 letters · shape CCVCCV · "klingeln" · 8 letters · shape CCVCCVCC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "Klinge" for "klingeln" ever safe?
In ordinary German text, does "Klinge" or "klingeln" 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 "Klinge" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "klingeln" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,864,493 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "Klinge" and "klingeln" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "klingeln vs Klingelton". 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 #1,864,493 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.