Which to use
“kühlen” is a verb and “Kühlung” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #10,125
- “kühlen” frequency rank
- #18,964
- “Kühlung” frequency rank
- 29089
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | kühlen | Kühlung |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | kühl machen; Temperatur (von etwas, das warm oder heiß ist) vermindern | Verringerung der Temperatur |
Where the eye mixes kühlen and Kühlung
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses kühlen with Kühlung
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: kühlen is [ˈkyːlən] while Kühlung is [ˈkyːlʊŋ]. 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 (verb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 29089, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
kühlen is recorded at frequency rank #10,125, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈkyːlən]. Kühlung is at rank #18,964, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈkyːlʊŋ].
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 29089, this pair ranks #1,773,243 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of kühlen vs Kühlung
Shared letters: hklnü. Private to "kühlen": e. Private to "Kühlung": gu.
"kühlen" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC · "Kühlung" · 7 letters · shape CVCCVCC
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "kühlen" for "Kühlung" ever safe?
Frequency check: "kühlen" vs "Kühlung" - which ranks higher?
What to do next
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "kühlen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "Kühlung" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,773,243 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "kühlen" and "Kühlung" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "kucken vs kühlen". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #1,773,243 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.