Which to use
“kühle” and “kühlen” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #13,191
- “kühle” frequency rank
- #10,125
- “kühlen” frequency rank
- 23316
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | kühle | kühlen |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs kühlen | kühl machen; Temperatur (von etwas, das warm oder heiß ist) vermindern |
Where the spellings diverge
Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set kühle and kühlen apart are highlighted. They share 5 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
A purely visual mix-up. kühle ([ˈkyːlə]) and kühlen ([ˈkyːlən]) 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) - “kühle” sits inside “kühlen”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 23316, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
kühle is recorded at frequency rank #13,191, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈkyːlə]. kühlen is at rank #10,125, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈkyːlən].
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 23316, this pair ranks #1,862,850 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of kühle vs kühlen
Shared letters: ehklü. Private to "kühle": -. Private to "kühlen": n.
"kühle" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV · "kühlen" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC
Frequency comparison
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "kühle" and "kühlen" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "kühle" or "kühlen"?
Remembering kühle vs kühlen
The fastest way to pick the right one every time.
- Read both glosses above and match the meaning you intend, only context separates this pair.
- See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “kühle” entry
- Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable