Kolben

[ˈkɔlbn̩]

/[ˈkɔlbn̩]/ noun

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

The verdict

“Kolben” has 9 generated spelling variants in the German index at frequency #21,666. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#21,666
frequency rank, German
4,158
“K” headwords
9
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - eine Keule oder ihr dickes Ende

Corpus desk

Index DE-kolben · Kolben · German

Kolben · rank #21,666 · 9 variants · 20 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #21,666
  • LEN-LONG 6 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
  • VAR-MID 9 variants
  • BOOK-MID 4,158
  • PHOTO-FINISH Kohlenstoff

Nearest frequency peer: Kohlenstoff (-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 „Kolben“

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

corpus weight

What this shows „Kolben“ 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).

Kolben vs Köln
50% similar
Kolben vs Körbe
50% similar
Kolben vs Kölle
50% similar

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

Key facts for Kolben
PropertyValue
HeadwordKolben
LanguageGerman
Part of speechNoun
IPA[ˈkɔlbn̩]
Letters6
Frequency rank#21,666
Misspellings tracked9
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Häufigkeitslage von Tippfehler-Magnet „Kolben“

Die Häufigkeit läuft von den wenigen Alltagswörtern (links) bis zur langen, seltenen Schwanzseite (rechts).Kolbenliegt hier neben dem Tippfehler-Druck:

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

Die Achse ist logarithmisch: jeder Tick markiert etwa zehnfach geringere Häufigkeit. Peers derselben Seltenheitsbandbreite: „Kohlenstoff“ (#21,665), „Koller“ (#21,667), „Konkurs“ (#21,668). Unter 4,158 „K“-Lemmata liegt „Kolben“ bei #21,666. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 9 spelling variants around Kolben (IPA [ˈkɔlbn̩]), anoun. Corpus frequency is #21,666 among 4,158 “K” headwords. Wiktionary lists 6 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 9 likely wrong-spelling variants for Kolben, with forms such as "kkolben", "kloben", and "koblen". Every one of these variants traces to a single-character edit -- an added or dropped letter, a swapped consonant, or a vowel swap -- the kind of slip a spell-checker is built to catch. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "Köln", "Körbe", "Kölle", and more, a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.

No explicit etymology string is stored for this entry, so its spelling pattern is best understood through pronunciation rather than a traceable origin. The correct German form is Kolben, spelled K-O-L-B-E-N.

Definition

  1. 1
    eine Keule oder ihr dickes Ende
  2. 2
    ein sich bewegendes, zylindrisches Teil in Maschinen
  3. 3
    Gewehrkolben, das hintere Ende eines Gewehrs, das man an die Schulter anlegen kann
  4. 4
    verdicktes Pflanzenteil, an dem dichtgedrängt Blüten oder Früchte nebeneinander wachsen
  5. 5
    Glaskolben
  6. 6
    Nase

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. Früher stand immer ein Kolben gleich hinter der Eingangstür.
  2. Da müssen wir, glaub' ich, den Kolben auswechseln.

Synonyms

SpadixRiechkolbenZinkenGesichtserker

This word in other languages

mace(English)pistón(Español)piston(Français)pistão(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • kkolben
  • kloben
  • koblen
  • kolbben
  • kolbenn
  • kolbne
  • kolebn
  • kollben
  • oklben

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of Kolben - counted as single-character edits (an insertion, a deletion, or a substituted letter). The larger the bar, the easier the typo is to spot; one-edit slips are the ones that sneak past readers.

kkolben1kloben2koblen2kolbben1kolbenn1kolbne2kolebn2kollben1
Edit distance from "Kolben"

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 "Kolben"?
"Kolben" is spelled K-O-L-B-E-N. The IPA pronunciation is [ˈkɔlbn̩].
What does "Kolben" mean?
As a noun, "Kolben" means: eine Keule oder ihr dickes Ende
What words are commonly confused with "Kolben"?
"Kolben" is commonly confused with "Köln", "Körbe", "Kölle". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "Kolben"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "Kolben" is [ˈkɔlbn̩]. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "Kolben" come from?
"Kolben" is a German word. PlainSpell's reference spans five languages -- English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German -- with definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data for each.
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 "Kolben", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked German headwords with 6 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

Koller#21,667klicke#21,663Kerber#21,660labern#21,674

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (9 here; floor ≥5).

Kalkül9 variantsjungle9 variantsIngwer9 variantsHektik9 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list