klopfvsKöpfeTell them apart

Quick tell: klopf is a verb, Köpfe is a noun, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“klopf” is a verb and “Köpfe” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#35,871
“klopf” frequency rank
#5,006
“Köpfe” frequency rank
40877
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature klopf Köpfe
Definition 2. Person Singular Imperativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs klopfen Nominativ Plural des Substantivs Kopf

Where the eye mixes klopf and Köpfe

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

5 ch
klopf
5 ch
Köpfe

Look-alike desk: klopf vs Köpfe

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: klopf is [klɔp͡f] while Köpfe is [ˈkœp͡fə]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 4 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 40877, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

klopf is recorded at frequency rank #35,871, classified as averb, pronounced [klɔp͡f]. Köpfe is at rank #5,006, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈkœp͡fə].

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 40877, this pair ranks #1,495,772 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of klopf vs Köpfe

Shared letters: fkp. Private to "klopf": lo. Private to "Köpfe": .

"klopf" · 5 letters · shape CCVCC  ·  "Köpfe" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • klopfkklopf · kllopf · klofp · klopff · kloppf · klpof · kolpf · lkopf

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "klopf" and "Köpfe" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "klopf" is a verb and "Köpfe" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "klopf" or "Köpfe"?
"Köpfe" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #5,006 in our German list, against #35,871 for "klopf". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Useful next steps

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

  • Full dictionary entry for "klopf" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Köpfe" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,495,772 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "klopf" and "Köpfe" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "klipp vs klopf". 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 #1,495,772 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