Which to use
“kannten” is a verb and “Karten” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #9,934
- “kannten” frequency rank
- #1,559
- “Karten” frequency rank
- 11493
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | kannten | Karten |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | 1. Person Plural Indikativ Präteritum des Verbs kennen | Nominativ Plural des Substantivs Karte |
Where the eye mixes kannten and Karten
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. kannten runs 7 letters (CVCCCVC) against Karten's 6 (CVCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses kannten with Karten
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: kannten is [ˈkantn̩] while Karten is [ˈkaʁtn̩]. 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 11493, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
kannten is recorded at frequency rank #9,934, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈkantn̩]. Karten is at rank #1,559, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈkaʁtn̩].
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 11493, this pair ranks #1,969,609 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of kannten vs Karten
Shared letters: aeknt. Private to "kannten": -. Private to "Karten": r.
"kannten" · 7 letters · shape CVCCCVC · "Karten" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "kannten" for "Karten" ever safe?
Which is more common, "kannten" or "Karten"?
After this comparison
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "kannten" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "Karten" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,969,609 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "kannten" and "Karten" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "kannten vs konntet". 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 #1,969,609 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.