Which to use
“Kühe” is a noun and “kühlt” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #8,584
- “Kühe” frequency rank
- #29,208
- “kühlt” frequency rank
- 37792
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | Kühe | kühlt |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Nominativ Plural des Substantivs Kuh | 2. Person Plural Imperativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs kühlen |
Where the eye mixes Kühe and kühlt
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence. Kühe runs 4 letters (CVCV) against kühlt's 5 (CVCCC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses Kühe with kühlt
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: Kühe is [ˈkyːə] while kühlt is [kyːlt]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 37792, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
Kühe is recorded at frequency rank #8,584, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈkyːə]. kühlt is at rank #29,208, tagged as averb, pronounced [kyːlt].
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 37792, this pair ranks #1,580,938 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of Kühe vs kühlt
Shared letters: hkü. Private to "Kühe": e. Private to "kühlt": lt.
"Kühe" · 4 letters · shape CVCV · "kühlt" · 5 letters · shape CVCCC
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "Kühe" and "kühlt" be used interchangeably?
In ordinary German text, does "Kühe" or "kühlt" show up more?
Useful next steps
Eye-level mix-up between "Kühe" and "kühlt" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "Kühe" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "kühlt" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,580,938 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "Kühe" and "kühlt" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "killt vs kühlt". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #1,580,938 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.