KlosevsKlugeTell them apart

Which to use

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

#25,200
“Klose” frequency rank
#9,392
“Kluge” frequency rank
34592
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Klose Kluge
Definition deutscher Nachname deutscher Nachname

Where the eye mixes Klose and Kluge

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence. Klose and Kluge follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (CCVCV). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.

5 ch
Klose
5 ch
Kluge

Look-alike desk: Klose vs Kluge

A purely visual mix-up. Klose ([ˈkloːzə]) and Kluge ([ˈkluːɡə]) 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 34592, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Klose is recorded at frequency rank #25,200, classified as aname, pronounced [ˈkloːzə]. Kluge is at rank #9,392, tagged as aname, pronounced [ˈkluːɡə].

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 34592, this pair ranks #1,659,752 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of Klose vs Kluge

Shared letters: ekl. Private to "Klose": os. Private to "Kluge": gu.

"Klose" · 5 letters · shape CCVCV  ·  "Kluge" · 5 letters · shape CCVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Klosekklose · kllose · kloes · klosse · klsoe · kolse · lkose
  • Klugekkluge · klgue · klluge · klueg · klugge · kulge · lkuge

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "Klose" and "Kluge" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([ˈkloːzə] versus [ˈkluːɡə]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "Klose" or "Kluge"?
"Kluge" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #9,392 in our German list, against #25,200 for "Klose". 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 "Klose" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Kluge" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,659,752 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Klose" and "Kluge" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Klose vs Knospe". 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 #1,659,752 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