klopftvsknüpftConfusable pair

Which to use

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

#18,298
“klopft” frequency rank
#24,404
“knüpft” frequency rank
42702
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature klopft knüpft
Definition 2. Person Plural Imperativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs klopfen 2. Person Plural Imperativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs knüpfen

Where the eye mixes klopft and knüpft

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.

6 ch
klopft
6 ch
knüpft

Why the eye confuses klopft with knüpft

A purely visual mix-up. klopft ([klɔp͡ft]) and knüpft ([knʏp͡ft]) 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 42702, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

klopft is recorded at frequency rank #18,298, classified as averb, pronounced [klɔp͡ft]. knüpft is at rank #24,404, tagged as averb, pronounced [knʏp͡ft].

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 42702, this pair ranks #1,441,227 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of klopft vs knüpft

Shared letters: fkpt. Private to "klopft": lo. Private to "knüpft": .

"klopft" · 6 letters · shape CCVCCC  ·  "knüpft" · 6 letters · shape CCVCCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • klopftkklopft · kllopft · klofpt · klopfft · klopftt · kloppft · kloptf · klpoft

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "klopft" and "knüpft" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([klɔp͡ft] versus [knʏp͡ft]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
In ordinary German text, does "klopft" or "knüpft" show up more?
"klopft" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #18,298 in our German list, against #24,404 for "knüpft". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

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

  • Full dictionary entry for "klopft" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "knüpft" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,441,227 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "klopft" and "knüpft" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "klopf vs klopft". 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 #1,441,227 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