kümmern
[ˈkʏmɐn]
The verdict
“kümmern” is a regularly-used German word, ranked #2,402 in German word frequency and used as a verb.
- #2,402
- frequency rank, German
- 7
- letters
- 9
- tracked misspellings
- 11
- confusable pairs
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) — reflexiv, mit „um“: für jemanden sorgen
Visual similarity to commonly confused words
How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).
Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | kümmern |
| Language | German |
| Part of speech | Verb |
| IPA | [ˈkʏmɐn] |
| Letters | 7 |
| Frequency rank | #2,402 |
| Misspellings tracked | 9 |
| Confusable pairs | 11 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “kümmern” sits in German frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The German entry for kümmern is 7 letters long, classified as a verb, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as [ˈkʏmɐn]. Corpus data places it at rank #2,402 in overall German word frequency, indicating it appears regularly in written and spoken text. Wiktionary records 4 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.
Our generated misspelling index lists 9 likely wrong-spelling variants for kümmern, with forms such as "kkümmern", "kmümern", and "kümemrn". 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 11 confusable-pair relationships, "kümmert", "kümmerte", "kümmerten", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.
No explicit etymology string is stored for this entry, so spelling patterns must be inferred from the word's phoneme-to-grapheme mapping rather than from a documented borrowing chain. For readers arriving here from a spelling check, the authoritative guidance is: the correct German form is kümmern, spelled K-Ü-M-M-E-R-N, and any other sequence of those letters, regardless of how natural it feels, is a misspelling in standard orthography.
Definition
- 1reflexiv, mit „um“: für jemanden sorgen
- 2sich um eine Angelegenheit Gedanken machen
- 3reflexiv, mit „um“: eine Arbeit erledigen
- 4kraftlos vor sich hin vegetieren (bei Mensch, Tier, Pflanze), auch in übertragener Bedeutung
Antonyms
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as: kkümmern,kmümern,kümemrn,kümern,kümmenr,kümmernn,kümmerrn,kümmren,ükmmern
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of kümmern - measured in single-character edits (insert, delete, or substitute a letter). Larger bars are easier to catch; one-edit slips are the sneakiest.
Edit distance from "kümmern"
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.
Cite this page
Free to reuse with attribution (CC BY-SA). Copy the citation:
PlainSpell, “kümmern, German word data” (May 6, 2026). Derived from Wiktionary (kaikki.org, CC BY-SA) and an open word-frequency list. https://plainspell.com/de/wort/kummern
Frequently Asked Questions
How do you spell "kümmern"?
What does "kümmern" mean?
What words are commonly confused with "kümmern"?
How do you pronounce "kümmern"?
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Using “kümmern”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct German spelling is K-Ü-M-M-E-R-N - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as [ˈkʏmɐn] (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Don't mix it up with “kümmert” - see the side-by-side comparison. kümmern vs kümmert
- Browse more German words and confusable pairs in the same reference. German words
Nearby German words
Other entries that begin with the letter K in our German index: