klinkvsklippWhich spelling fits?

Quick tell: klink is a verb, klipp is an adverb, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“klink” is a verb and “klipp” is an adverb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#38,853
“klink” frequency rank
#40,641
“klipp” frequency rank
79494
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature klink klipp
Definition 2. Person Singular Imperativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs klinken kurzab

Where the eye mixes klink and klipp

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.

5 ch
klink
5 ch
klipp

Why the eye confuses klink with klipp

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: klink is [klɪŋk] while klipp is [klɪp]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs adverb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 79494, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

klink is recorded at frequency rank #38,853, classified as averb, pronounced [klɪŋk]. klipp is at rank #40,641, tagged as anadv, pronounced [klɪp].

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 79494, this pair ranks #215,313 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of klink vs klipp

Shared letters: ikl. Private to "klink": n. Private to "klipp": p.

"klink" · 5 letters · shape CCVCC  ·  "klipp" · 5 letters · shape CCVCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • klinkkilnk · kklink · klikn · klinkk · klinnk · kllink · klnik · lkink
  • klippkilpp · kklipp · klip · kllipp · klpip · lkipp

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "klink" and "klipp" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "klink" is a verb and "klipp" an adverb, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "klink" or "klipp"?
"klink" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #38,853 in our German list, against #40,641 for "klipp". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.

  • Full dictionary entry for "klink" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "klipp" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #215,313 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "klink" and "klipp" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "kapp vs klipp". 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 #215,313 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