KorkvskurzWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: Kork is a noun, kurz is an adjective, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“Kork” is a noun and “kurz” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#43,297
“Kork” frequency rank
#331
“kurz” frequency rank
43628
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Kork kurz
Definition 2,5 bis 20 cm dicke Rinde der Korkeiche (quercus suber), aus lückenlos aneinander schließenden Zellen, die für Flüssigkeiten und Gase schwer durchlässig sind wenig Länge habend

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set Kork and kurz apart are highlighted. They share 2 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

4 ch
Kork
4 ch
kurz

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: Kork is [kɔʁk] while kurz is [kʊʁt͡s]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 43628, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Kork is recorded at frequency rank #43,297, classified as anoun, pronounced [kɔʁk]. kurz is at rank #331, tagged as anadj, pronounced [kʊʁt͡s].

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 43628, this pair ranks #1,412,056 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of Kork vs kurz

Shared letters: kr. Private to "Kork": o. Private to "kurz": uz.

"Kork" · 4 letters · shape CVCC  ·  "kurz" · 4 letters · shape CVCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Korkkkork · kokr · korkk · korrk · krok · okrk
  • kurzkkurz · kruz · kurrz · kurzz · kuzr · ukrz

Frequency comparison

Kork#43,297
kurz#331

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "Kork" and "kurz" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "Kork" is a noun and "kurz" an adjective, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "Kork" or "kurz"?
"kurz" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #331 in our German list, against #43,297 for "Kork". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

Remembering Kork vs kurz

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a noun, it's “Kork”; for an adjective, it's “kurz”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “Kork” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list