Which to use
“klopfte” is a verb and “Köpfe” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #33,670
- “klopfte” frequency rank
- #5,006
- “Köpfe” frequency rank
- 38676
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | klopfte | Köpfe |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präteritum Aktiv des Verbs klopfen | Nominativ Plural des Substantivs Kopf |
Where the eye mixes klopfte and Köpfe
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. klopfte runs 7 letters (CCVCCCV) against Köpfe's 5 (CVCCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Visual trap between klopfte and Köpfe
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: klopfte is [ˈklɔp͡ftə] while Köpfe is [ˈkœp͡fə]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 2 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 38676, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
klopfte is recorded at frequency rank #33,670, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈklɔp͡ftə]. 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 38676, this pair ranks #1,557,624 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of klopfte vs Köpfe
Shared letters: efkp. Private to "klopfte": lot. Private to "Köpfe": ö.
"klopfte" · 7 letters · shape CCVCCCV · "Köpfe" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV
Known mistypes of this pair
- klopfte ← kklopfte · kllopfte · klofpte · klopfet · klopffte · klopftte · kloppfte · kloptfe
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "klopfte" for "Köpfe" ever safe?
In ordinary German text, does "klopfte" or "Köpfe" show up more?
What to do next
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "klopfte" 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 #1,557,624 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "klopfte" and "Köpfe" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "klopf vs klopfte". 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 #1,557,624 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.