KörpervsKörpernWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#862
“Körper” frequency rank
#25,212
“Körpern” frequency rank
26074
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Körper Körpern
Definition Organismus eines Lebewesens in seiner Gesamtheit Dativ Plural des Substantivs Körper

Where the eye mixes Körper and Körpern

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. Körper runs 6 letters (CVCCVC) against Körpern's 7 (CVCCVCC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

6 ch
Körper
7 ch
Körpern

Why the eye confuses Körper with Körpern

A purely visual mix-up. Körper ([ˈkœʁpɐ]) and Körpern ([ˈkœʁpɐn]) 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 extra letter(s) - “Körper” sits inside “Körpern”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 26074, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Körper is recorded at frequency rank #862, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈkœʁpɐ]. Körpern is at rank #25,212, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈkœʁpɐn].

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 26074, this pair ranks #1,823,559 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of Körper vs Körpern

Shared letters: ekprö. Private to "Körper": -. Private to "Körpern": n.

"Körper" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC  ·  "Körpern" · 7 letters · shape CVCCVCC

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "Körper" and "Körpern" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([ˈkœʁpɐ] versus [ˈkœʁpɐn]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "Körper" vs "Körpern" - which ranks higher?
"Körper" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #862 in our German list, against #25,212 for "Körpern". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

What to do next

Eye-level mix-up between "Körper" and "Körpern" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.

  • Full dictionary entry for "Körper" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Körpern" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,823,559 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Körper" and "Körpern" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "ködern vs Körpern". Nearby pair

Confusion rank #1,823,559 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