Which to use
“kann” is a verb and “Kante” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #53
- “kann” frequency rank
- #11,076
- “Kante” frequency rank
- 11129
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | kann | Kante |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs können | scharfer Rand, daher auch der Besatz an Stoffen, Kleidern |
Where the eye mixes kann and Kante
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence. kann runs 4 letters (CVCC) against Kante's 5 (CVCCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses kann with Kante
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: kann is [kan] while Kante is [ˈkantə]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 11129, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
kann is recorded at frequency rank #53, classified as averb, pronounced [kan]. Kante is at rank #11,076, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈkantə].
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 11129, this pair ranks #1,971,554 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of kann vs Kante
Shared letters: akn. Private to "kann": -. Private to "Kante": et.
"kann" · 4 letters · shape CVCC · "Kante" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "kann" and "Kante" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Frequency check: "kann" vs "Kante" - which ranks higher?
What to do next
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "kann" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "Kante" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,971,554 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "kann" and "Kante" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Kante vs karge". 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 #1,971,554 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.