Which to use
“kühn” and “kurz” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #12,751
- “kühn” frequency rank
- #331
- “kurz” frequency rank
- 13082
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | kühn | kurz |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | der Gefahr trotzend und ihr entschlossen entgegentretend | wenig Länge habend |
Where the eye mixes kühn and kurz
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 1 letter in sequence. kühn and kurz follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (CVCC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.
Why the eye confuses kühn with kurz
A purely visual mix-up. kühn ([kyːn]) and kurz ([kʊʁt͡s]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 3 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 13082, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
kühn is recorded at frequency rank #12,751, classified as anadj, pronounced [kyːn]. kurz is at rank #331, tagged as anadj, pronounced [kʊʁt͡s].
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 13082, this pair ranks #1,960,240 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of kühn vs kurz
Shared letters: k. Private to "kühn": hnü. Private to "kurz": ruz.
"kühn" · 4 letters · shape CVCC · "kurz" · 4 letters · shape CVCC
Known mistypes of this pair
- kurz ← kkurz · kruz · kurrz · kurzz · kuzr · ukrz
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "kühn" and "kurz" be used interchangeably?
Frequency check: "kühn" vs "kurz" - which ranks higher?
What to do next
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "kühn" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "kurz" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,960,240 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "kühn" and "kurz" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "kuck vs kühn". 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 #1,960,240 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.