kacvskinConfusable pair

Quick tell: kac is a noun, kin is a num, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“kac” is a noun and “kin” is a num - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#43,278
“kac” frequency rank
#39,466
“kin” frequency rank
82744
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature kac kin
Definition körperliches Unwoholsein nach übermäßigem Alkoholkonsum; Kater, Katzenjammer, Katerstimmung, Hangover, Hang-over fünf (5)

Where the eye mixes kac and kin

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 1 letter in sequence. kac and kin follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (CVC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.

3 ch
kac
3 ch
kin

Visual trap between kac and kin

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: kac is [kat͡s] while kin is [kin]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs num), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 82744, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

kac is recorded at frequency rank #43,278, classified as anoun, pronounced [kat͡s]. kin is at rank #39,466, tagged as anum, pronounced [kin].

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 82744, this pair ranks #151,788 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of kac vs kin

Shared letters: k. Private to "kac": ac. Private to "kin": in.

"kac" · 3 letters · shape CVC  ·  "kin" · 3 letters · shape CVC

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "kac" and "kin" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "kac" is a noun and "kin" a num, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
In ordinary German text, does "kac" or "kin" show up more?
"kin" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #39,466 in our German list, against #43,278 for "kac". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.

  • Full dictionary entry for "kac" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "kin" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #151,788 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "kac" and "kin" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "kac vs KGaA". Nearby pair

Confusion rank #151,788 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list