German consonants I do not recall specific examples of h and k swaps but it seems possible to me I know the cities of Kassel and Karlsruhe were often spelled Cassel and Carlsruhe in German in the 19th century and Koeln was Coeln Cologne There is also the whole issue of writing and being able to read it Fraktur and S tterlin are always tricky and h and k may look similar in them