klonenvsKloseTell them apart

Quick tell: klonen is a verb, Klose is a name, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“klonen” is a verb and “Klose” is a name - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#40,034
“klonen” frequency rank
#25,200
“Klose” frequency rank
65234
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature klonen Klose
Definition ungeschlechtlich fortpflanzen, zum Beispiel indem man Stecklinge oder Senker setzt deutscher Nachname

Where the eye mixes klonen and Klose

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. klonen runs 6 letters (CCVCVC) against Klose's 5 (CCVCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

6 ch
klonen
5 ch
Klose

Why the eye confuses klonen with Klose

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: klonen is [ˈkloːnən] while Klose is [ˈkloːzə]. 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 name), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 65234, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

klonen is recorded at frequency rank #40,034, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈkloːnən]. Klose is at rank #25,200, tagged as aname, pronounced [ˈkloːzə].

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 65234, this pair ranks #613,934 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of klonen vs Klose

Shared letters: eklo. Private to "klonen": n. Private to "Klose": s.

"klonen" · 6 letters · shape CCVCVC  ·  "Klose" · 5 letters · shape CCVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • klonen ← kklonen · kllonen · klnoen · kloenn · klonenn · klonne · klonnen · kolnen
  • Klose ← kklose · kllose · kloes · klosse · klsoe · kolse · lkose

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "klonen" and "Klose" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "klonen" is a verb and "Klose" a name, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "klonen" or "Klose"?
"Klose" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #25,200 in our German list, against #40,034 for "klonen". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

Eye-level mix-up between "klonen" and "Klose" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.

  • Full dictionary entry for "klonen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Klose" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #613,934 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "klonen" and "Klose" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "klonen vs kloppen". 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 #613,934 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