KölnervsKörperTell them apart

Which to use

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

#3,053
“Kölner” frequency rank
#862
“Körper” frequency rank
3915
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Kölner Körper
Definition ein Einwohner, Bewohner der Stadt Köln, eine in Köln geborene Person Organismus eines Lebewesens in seiner Gesamtheit

Where the eye mixes Kölner and Körper

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. Kölner and Körper follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (CVCCVC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.

6 ch
Kölner
6 ch
Körper

Look-alike desk: Kölner vs Körper

A purely visual mix-up. Kölner ([ˈkœlnɐ]) and Körper ([ˈkœʁpɐ]) 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 3915, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Kölner is recorded at frequency rank #3,053, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈkœlnɐ]. Körper is at rank #862, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈkœʁpɐ].

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 3915, this pair ranks #1,999,036 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of Kölner vs Körper

Shared letters: ekrö. Private to "Kölner": ln. Private to "Körper": p.

"Kölner" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC  ·  "Körper" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "Kölner" for "Körper" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([ˈkœlnɐ] versus [ˈkœʁpɐ]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "Kölner" vs "Körper" - which ranks higher?
"Körper" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #862 in our German list, against #3,053 for "Kölner". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.

  • Full dictionary entry for "Kölner" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Körper" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,999,036 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Kölner" and "Körper" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Kölle vs Kölner". Nearby pair

Confusion rank #1,999,036 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