KlingelvsKlinkeWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

“Klingel” and “Klinke” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#20,975
“Klingel” frequency rank
#26,480
“Klinke” frequency rank
47455
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Klingel Klinke
Definition Gerät zum Klingeln Hebel zum Öffnen einer Tür durch Verschieben eines Riegels

Where the eye mixes Klingel and Klinke

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. Klingel runs 7 letters (CCVCCVC) against Klinke's 6 (CCVCCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

7 ch
Klingel
6 ch
Klinke

Visual trap between Klingel and Klinke

A purely visual mix-up. Klingel ([ˈklɪŋl̩]) and Klinke ([ˈklɪŋkə]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 47455, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Klingel is recorded at frequency rank #20,975, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈklɪŋl̩]. Klinke is at rank #26,480, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈklɪŋkə].

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 47455, this pair ranks #1,283,616 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of Klingel vs Klinke

Shared letters: eikln. Private to "Klingel": g. Private to "Klinke": -.

"Klingel" · 7 letters · shape CCVCCVC  ·  "Klinke" · 6 letters · shape CCVCCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Klingel ← kilngel · kklingel · klignel · klinegl · klingell · klinggel · klingle · klinngel
  • Klinke ← kilnke · kklinke · klikne · klinek · klinkke · klinnke · kllinke · klnike

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "Klingel" for "Klinke" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([ˈklɪŋl̩] versus [ˈklɪŋkə]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
In ordinary German text, does "Klingel" or "Klinke" show up more?
"Klingel" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #20,975 in our German list, against #26,480 for "Klinke". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.

  • Full dictionary entry for "Klingel" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Klinke" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,283,616 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Klingel" and "Klinke" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Kinde vs Klinke". 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 #1,283,616 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