Kümmel vs kümmern, What's the Difference?

Which to use

“Kümmel” is a noun and “kümmern” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#37,040
“Kümmel” frequency rank: #2,402
“kümmern” frequency rank: 39442
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature	Kümmel	kümmern
Definition	Gewürzpflanze: Doldenblütler der Art Carum carvi	reflexiv, mit „um“: für jemanden sorgen

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set Kümmel and kümmern apart are highlighted. They share 5 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

6 ch

Kümmel

7 ch

kümmern

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: Kümmel is [ˈkʏml̩] while kümmern is [ˈkʏmɐn]. 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 39442, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Kümmel is recorded at frequency rank #37,040, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈkʏml̩]. kümmern is at rank #2,402, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈkʏmɐn].

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 39442, this pair ranks #1,536,692 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of Kümmel vs kümmern

Shared letters: ekmü. Private to "Kümmel": l. Private to "kümmern": nr.

"Kümmel" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC · "kümmern" · 7 letters · shape CVCCVCC

Frequency comparison

Kümmel#37,040

kümmern#2,402

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "Kümmel" and "kümmern" be used interchangeably?

No - they are not even the same part of speech. "Kümmel" is a noun and "kümmern" a verb, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.

Which is more common, "Kümmel" or "kümmern"?

"kümmern" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #2,402 in our German list, against #37,040 for "Kümmel". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

Remembering Kümmel vs kümmern

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

Check the role first: if you need a noun, it's “Kümmel”; for a verb, it's “kümmern”.
See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “Kümmel” entry
Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable