KlippevsKlippenWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

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

#26,481
“Klippe” frequency rank
#22,040
“Klippen” frequency rank
48521
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Klippe Klippen
Definition großer, aus dem Meer ragender oder auf Höhe der Wasseroberfläche liegender Felsblock in Küstennähe Nominativ Plural des Substantivs Klippe

Where the eye mixes Klippe and Klippen

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

6 ch
Klippe
7 ch
Klippen

Visual trap between Klippe and Klippen

A purely visual mix-up. Klippe ([ˈklɪpə]) and Klippen ([ˈklɪpm̩]) 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 extra letter(s) - “Klippe” sits inside “Klippen”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 48521, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Klippe is recorded at frequency rank #26,481, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈklɪpə]. Klippen is at rank #22,040, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈklɪpm̩].

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 48521, this pair ranks #1,245,521 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of Klippe vs Klippen

Shared letters: eiklp. Private to "Klippe": -. Private to "Klippen": n.

"Klippe" · 6 letters · shape CCVCCV  ·  "Klippen" · 7 letters · shape CCVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Klippekilppe · kklippe · klipe · klipep · kllippe · klpipe · lkippe
  • Klippenkilppen · kklippen · klipen · klipepn · klippenn · klippne · kllippen · klpipen

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "Klippe" and "Klippen" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([ˈklɪpə] versus [ˈklɪpm̩]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
In ordinary German text, does "Klippe" or "Klippen" show up more?
"Klippen" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #22,040 in our German list, against #26,481 for "Klippe". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

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

  • Full dictionary entry for "Klippe" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Klippen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,245,521 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Klippe" and "Klippen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Klippe vs krippen". 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 #1,245,521 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