Which to use
“klingen” is a verb and “Klinke” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #4,715
- “klingen” frequency rank
- #26,480
- “Klinke” frequency rank
- 31195
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | klingen | Klinke |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | einen glockenartigen Ton von sich geben | Hebel zum Öffnen einer Tür durch Verschieben eines Riegels |
Where the eye mixes klingen and Klinke
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. klingen 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.
Why the eye confuses klingen with Klinke
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: klingen is [ˈklɪŋən] while Klinke is [ˈklɪŋkə]. 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 noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 31195, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
klingen is recorded at frequency rank #4,715, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈklɪŋən]. 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 31195, this pair ranks #1,732,964 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of klingen vs Klinke
Shared letters: eikln. Private to "klingen": g. Private to "Klinke": -.
"klingen" · 7 letters · shape CCVCCVC · "Klinke" · 6 letters · shape CCVCCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "klingen" for "Klinke" ever safe?
Which is more common, "klingen" or "Klinke"?
What to do next
Eye-level mix-up between "klingen" and "Klinke" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "klingen" 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 #1,732,964 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "klingen" 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 #1,732,964 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.