Which to use
“König” and “Königin” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #816
- “König” frequency rank
- #2,837
- “Königin” frequency rank
- 3653
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | König | Königin |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | höchster oder historisch hoher (nach dem Kaiser) monarchischer Würdenträger eines Staates, eines Königreiches; Namensbestandteil von Titelbezeichnungen | nach der Kaiserin höchste monarchische Würdenträgerin eines Staates (Königreichs) |
Where the eye mixes König and Königin
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. König runs 5 letters (CVCVC) against Königin's 7 (CVCVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Look-alike desk: König vs Königin
A purely visual mix-up. König ([ˈkøːnɪç]) and Königin ([ˈkøːnɪɡɪn]) 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 2 extra letter(s) - “König” sits inside “Königin”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 3653, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
König is recorded at frequency rank #816, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈkøːnɪç]. Königin is at rank #2,837, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈkøːnɪɡɪn].
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 3653, this pair ranks #1,999,703 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of König vs Königin
Shared letters: giknö. Private to "König": -. Private to "Königin": -.
"König" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC · "Königin" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCVC
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "König" for "Königin" ever safe?
In ordinary German text, does "König" or "Königin" show up more?
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 "König" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "Königin" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,999,703 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "König" and "Königin" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "kantig vs König". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #1,999,703 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.