Which to use
“kommen” and “kümmern” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #181
- “kommen” frequency rank
- #2,402
- “kümmern” frequency rank
- 2583
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | kommen | kümmern |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | einen Ort erreichen, sich von einem Ort hierher begeben | reflexiv, mit „um“: für jemanden sorgen |
Where the eye mixes kommen and kümmern
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. kommen runs 6 letters (CVCCVC) against kümmern's 7 (CVCCVCC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Look-alike desk: kommen vs kümmern
A purely visual mix-up. kommen ([ˈkɔmən]) and kümmern ([ˈkʏmɐn]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 2583, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
kommen is recorded at frequency rank #181, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈkɔmən]. kümmern is at rank #2,402, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈkʏmɐn].
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 2583, this pair ranks #2,002,029 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of kommen vs kümmern
Shared letters: ekmn. Private to "kommen": o. Private to "kümmern": rü.
"kommen" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC · "kümmern" · 7 letters · shape CVCCVCC
Known mistypes of this pair
- kommen ← kkommen · kmomen · komemn · komen · kommenn · kommne · okmmen
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "kommen" and "kümmern" mean the same thing in a sentence?
In ordinary German text, does "kommen" or "kümmern" 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 "kommen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "kümmern" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #2,002,029 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "kommen" and "kümmern" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "kämmen vs kümmern". 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 #2,002,029 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.