KühlungvsKupplungTell them apart

Which to use

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

#18,964
“Kühlung” frequency rank
#24,417
“Kupplung” frequency rank
43381
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Kühlung Kupplung
Definition Verringerung der Temperatur Maschinenelement, das zwei drehbare Teile verbindet, um ein Drehmoment zu übertragen

Where the eye mixes Kühlung and Kupplung

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. Kühlung runs 7 letters (CVCCVCC) against Kupplung's 8 (CVCCCVCC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

7 ch
Kühlung
8 ch
Kupplung

Visual trap between Kühlung and Kupplung

A purely visual mix-up. Kühlung ([ˈkyːlʊŋ]) and Kupplung ([ˈkʊplʊŋ]) 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 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 43381, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Kühlung is recorded at frequency rank #18,964, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈkyːlʊŋ]. Kupplung is at rank #24,417, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈkʊplʊŋ].

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 43381, this pair ranks #1,419,911 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of Kühlung vs Kupplung

Shared letters: gklnu. Private to "Kühlung": hü. Private to "Kupplung": p.

"Kühlung" · 7 letters · shape CVCCVCC  ·  "Kupplung" · 8 letters · shape CVCCCVCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Kupplung ← kkupplung · kpuplung · kuplpung · kuplung · kuppllung · kupplnug · kupplugn · kupplungg

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "Kühlung" and "Kupplung" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([ˈkyːlʊŋ] versus [ˈkʊplʊŋ]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "Kühlung" or "Kupplung"?
"Kühlung" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #18,964 in our German list, against #24,417 for "Kupplung". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Useful next steps

Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.

  • Full dictionary entry for "Kühlung" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Kupplung" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,419,911 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Kühlung" and "Kupplung" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Kopplung vs Kupplung". Nearby pair
  • Recorded mistypes exist for at least one side of this pair, useful when a spell-checker or OCR lands on the wrong form. See mistypes

Confusion rank #1,419,911 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