klugvskuTell them apart

Quick tell: klug is a adjective, ku is a pronoun, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“klug” is an adjective and “ku” is a pronoun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#5,727
“klug” frequency rank
#17,061
“ku” frequency rank
22788
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature klug ku
Definition mit scharfem Verstand und logischem Denkvermögen ausgestattet; mit gut entwickelter Denkfähigkeit wo

Letter map: klug vs ku

Shared letters muted; letters that set klug and ku apart highlighted. Shared run: 2.

4 ch
klug
2 ch
ku

Role in the sentence - klug and ku

Our dataset has no pronunciation recorded for both members, so the reliable separator here is grammatical: klug is anadjective and kuapronoun. On the page they differ by 2 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 22788, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

klug is recorded at frequency rank #5,727, classified as anadj, pronounced [kluːk]. ku is at rank #17,061, tagged as apron, pronounced […].

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 22788, this pair ranks #1,869,755 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of klug vs ku

Shared letters: ku. Private to "klug": gl. Private to "ku": -.

"klug" · 4 letters · shape CCVC  ·  "ku" · 2 letters · shape CV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • klugkklug · klgu · kllug · klugg · kulg · lkug

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "klug" and "ku" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "klug" is an adjective and "ku" a pronoun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
In ordinary German text, does "klug" or "ku" show up more?
"klug" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #5,727 in our German list, against #17,061 for "ku". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

Done with this confusable. These links stay specific to "klug" and "ku".

  • Full dictionary entry for "klug" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "ku" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,869,755 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "klug" and "ku" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "ku vs puzzles". 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 #1,869,755 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