kackvskanConfusable pair

Which to use

“kack” and “kan” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#22,032
“kack” frequency rank
#14,843
“kan” frequency rank
36875
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature kack kan
Definition 2. Person Singular Imperativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs kacken 1. Person Singular Präsens Indikativ des Verbs kunna ^(→ sv)

Letter map: kack vs kan

Shared letters muted; letters that set kack and kan apart highlighted. Shared run: 2.

4 ch
kack
3 ch
kan

Pair insight - kack / kan

kack and kan are indexed as a confusable German pair. We have no recorded pronunciation or part of speech for both members, so the spelling overlap is what we can show you: they differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 36875, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

kack is recorded at frequency rank #22,032, classified as averb, pronounced [kak]. kan is at rank #14,843, tagged as averb, pronounced […].

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 36875, this pair ranks #1,604,501 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of kack vs kan

Shared letters: ak. Private to "kack": c. Private to "kan": n.

"kack" · 4 letters · shape CVCC  ·  "kan" · 3 letters · shape CVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • kackakck · kacck · kackk · kakc · kcak · kkack

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "kack" for "kan" ever safe?
No. They differ by 1 letter(s) in length, but the dictionary glosses above give them different meanings, so swapping one for the other changes what the sentence says.
Frequency check: "kack" vs "kan" - which ranks higher?
"kan" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #14,843 in our German list, against #22,032 for "kack". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

Pair "kack" vs "kan" is on the table, pick a follow-up below.

  • Full dictionary entry for "kack" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "kan" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,604,501 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "kack" and "kan" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "kack vs kaut". Nearby pair
  • Recorded mistypes exist for at least one side of this pair, useful when a spell-checker or OCR lands on the wrong form. See mistypes

Confusion rank #1,604,501 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