klopfen

[ˈklɔp͡fn̩]

/[ˈklɔp͡fn̩]/ verb

The verdict

“klopfen” has 11 generated spelling variants in the German index at frequency #12,745. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#12,745
frequency rank, German
4,158
“K” headwords
11
tracked misspellings
17
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - durch periodische Bewegung ein rhythmisches Geräusch erzeugen

Corpus desk

Index DE-klopfen · klopfen · German

klopfen · rank #12,745 · 11 variants · 17 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #12,745
  • LEN-LONG 7 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-HIGH 17 pairs
  • VAR-MID 11 variants
  • BOOK-MID 4,158
  • PHOTO-FINISH klatschen

Nearest frequency peer: klatschen (-1 rank slots)

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Rang-Peers am Tippfehler-Magneten „klopfen“

Gleiche Seltenheitsbandbreite: nützlich, wenn ein Tippfehler auf ein Peer-Lemma trifft

corpus weight

What this shows „klopfen“ sitzt unter diesen FrequencyWords-Peers; die Tippfehlertiefe steht separat im Edit-Distance-Chart.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

klopfen vs Köpfe
43% similar
klopfen vs köpfen
71% similar
klopfen vs Kopien
57% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for klopfen
PropertyValue
Headwordklopfen
LanguageGerman
Part of speechVerb
IPA[ˈklɔp͡fn̩]
Letters7
Frequency rank#12,745
Misspellings tracked11
Confusable pairs17
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Häufigkeitslage von Tippfehler-Magnet „klopfen“

Diese Skala geht vom Kern des Alltagdeutschen (links) bis zum seltenen Langschwanz (rechts).klopfenliegt hier neben dem Tippfehler-Druck:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Die Skala ist logarithmisch (jeder Tick ≈ 10× seltener). Peers derselben Seltenheitsbandbreite: „klatschen“ (#12,744), „Komplikationen“ (#12,746), „Klassenerhalt“ (#12,743). Unter 4,158 „K“-Lemmata liegt „klopfen“ bei #12,745. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 11 spelling variants around klopfen (IPA [ˈklɔp͡fn̩]), averb. Corpus frequency is #12,745 among 4,158 “K” headwords. Dominant gloss: "durch periodische Bewegung ein rhythmisches Geräusch erzeugen".

Our generated misspelling index lists 11 likely wrong-spelling variants for klopfen, with forms such as "kklopfen", "kllopfen", and "klofpen". Each variant is a distinct typo pattern an edit-distance generator flags, typically a doubled-consonant error, a silent-letter drop, or a vowel substitution. It also participates in 17 confusable-pair relationships, "Köpfe", "köpfen", "Kopien", and more, since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.

This entry's etymology isn't recorded, so spelling patterns must be inferred from the word's phoneme-to-grapheme mapping rather than from a documented borrowing chain. The correct German form is klopfen, spelled K-L-O-P-F-E-N.

Definition

  1. 1
    durch periodische Bewegung ein rhythmisches Geräusch erzeugen

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how klopfen appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. Er klopfte an die Tür und flüsterte: »Indes sich vergnügt euer Kreis, Verrät dich die Griechin auf schmähliche Weis’.«
  2. Ein halbwegs sicherer Umgang mit dem Hammer ist dabei Voraussetzung, denn wer keinen Nagel in die Wand klopfen kann, sollte das auch nicht an einem Pferdehuf versuchen.

Synonyms

This word in other languages

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • kklopfen
  • kllopfen
  • klofpen
  • klopefn
  • klopfenn
  • klopffen
  • klopfne
  • kloppfen
  • klpofen
  • kolpfen
  • lkopfen

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of klopfen - expressed in single-character edits (insert, delete, or swap one letter). Bigger bars stand out at a glance; a one-edit slip is the hardest to catch.

kklopfen1kllopfen1klofpen2klopefn2klopfenn1klopffen1klopfne2kloppfen1
Edit distance from "klopfen"

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 German corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "klopfen"?
"klopfen" is spelled K-L-O-P-F-E-N. The IPA pronunciation is [ˈklɔp͡fn̩].
What does "klopfen" mean?
As a verb, "klopfen" means: durch periodische Bewegung ein rhythmisches Geräusch erzeugen
What words are commonly confused with "klopfen"?
"klopfen" is commonly confused with "Köpfe", "köpfen", "Kopien". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "klopfen"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "klopfen" is [ˈklɔp͡fn̩]. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "klopfen" come from?
"klopfen" is a German word. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data for this and other words across English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German on PlainSpell.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar German words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "klopfen", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked German headwords with 7 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (11 here; floor ≥5).

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list