KlingevsklingtConfusable pair

Quick tell: Klinge is a noun, klingt is a verb, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“Klinge” is a noun and “klingt” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#10,678
“Klinge” frequency rank
#1,013
“klingt” frequency rank
11691
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Klinge klingt
Definition flacher, geschärfter Teil diverser Werkzeuge (zum Beispiel Beil, Sichel, Sense) und Waffen (Messer, Dolch, Axt), welcher die Schneide enthält 3. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs klingen

Where the eye mixes Klinge and klingt

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. Klinge (CCVCCV) and klingt (CCVCCC) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.

6 ch
Klinge
6 ch
klingt

Look-alike desk: Klinge vs klingt

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: Klinge is [ˈklɪŋə] while klingt is [klɪŋt]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by a single letter - e in “Klinge” becomes t in “klingt”, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 11691, 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]. klingt is at rank #1,013, tagged as averb, pronounced [klɪŋt].

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 11691, this pair ranks #1,968,464 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of Klinge vs klingt

Shared letters: gikln. Private to "Klinge": e. Private to "klingt": t.

"Klinge" · 6 letters · shape CCVCCV  ·  "klingt" · 6 letters · shape CCVCCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Klinge ← kilnge · kklinge · kligne · klineg · klingge · klinnge · kllinge · klnige
  • klingt ← kilngt · kklingt · klignt · klinggt · klingtt · klinngt · klintg · kllingt

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "Klinge" and "klingt" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "Klinge" is a noun and "klingt" a verb, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
In ordinary German text, does "Klinge" or "klingt" show up more?
"klingt" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #1,013 in our German list, against #10,678 for "Klinge". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

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 "klingt" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,968,464 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Klinge" and "klingt" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Klinge vs klingst". 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 #1,968,464 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list