KlonvsKranTell them apart

Which to use

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

#27,810
“Klon” frequency rank
#18,605
“Kran” frequency rank
46415
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Klon Kran
Definition Biologie, Genetik: Gesamtheit aller genetisch identischen Kopien eines Individuums manuell oder motorisch betriebene, mit einem (beweglichen) Ausleger versehene Vorrichtung, mithilfe derer Lasten oder sperrige Gegenstände gehoben und/oder versetzt werden

Where the eye mixes Klon and Kran

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.

4 ch
Klon
4 ch
Kran

Visual trap between Klon and Kran

A purely visual mix-up. Klon ([kloːn]) and Kran ([kʁaːn]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 46415, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Klon is recorded at frequency rank #27,810, classified as anoun, pronounced [kloːn]. Kran is at rank #18,605, tagged as anoun, pronounced [kʁaːn].

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 46415, this pair ranks #1,319,902 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of Klon vs Kran

Shared letters: kn. Private to "Klon": lo. Private to "Kran": ar.

"Klon" · 4 letters · shape CCVC  ·  "Kran" · 4 letters · shape CCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Klonkklon · kllon · klno · klonn · koln · lkon
  • Krankarn · kkran · krann · krna · krran · rkan

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "Klon" for "Kran" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([kloːn] versus [kʁaːn]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "Klon" or "Kran"?
"Kran" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #18,605 in our German list, against #27,810 for "Klon". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

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

  • Full dictionary entry for "Klon" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Kran" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,319,902 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Klon" and "Kran" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Klon vs krönt". 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 #1,319,902 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