klopftevsKöpfeWhat's the difference?

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

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 spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set klopfte and Köpfe apart are highlighted. They share 4 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

7 ch
klopfte
5 ch
Köpfe

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

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

  • klopftekklopfte · kllopfte · klofpte · klopfet · klopffte · klopftte · kloppfte · kloptfe

Frequency comparison

klopfte#33,670
Köpfe#5,006

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "klopfte" and "Köpfe" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "klopfte" is a verb and "Köpfe" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "klopfte" or "Köpfe"?
"Köpfe" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #5,006 in our German list, against #33,670 for "klopfte". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering klopfte vs Köpfe

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a verb, it's “klopfte”; for a noun, it's “Köpfe”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “klopfte” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list