KanonvskauenWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: Kanon is a noun, kauen is a verb, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“Kanon” is a noun and “kauen” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#22,786
“Kanon” frequency rank
#22,394
“kauen” frequency rank
45180
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Kanon kauen
Definition eine Liste von wichtigen und oft als verbindlich oder grundlegend angesehenen Schriften oder Werken in Religion, Literatur, Musik, Kunst und vielen Wissenschaften Nahrung mit den Zähnen, durch wiederholtes Öffnen und Schließen der Kiefer, zerkleinern

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set Kanon and kauen apart are highlighted. They share 3 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

5 ch
Kanon
5 ch
kauen

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: Kanon is [ˈkaːnɔn] while kauen is [ˈkaʊ̯ən]. 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 verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 45180, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Kanon is recorded at frequency rank #22,786, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈkaːnɔn]. kauen is at rank #22,394, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈkaʊ̯ən].

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 45180, this pair ranks #1,361,773 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of Kanon vs kauen

Shared letters: akn. Private to "Kanon": o. Private to "kauen": eu.

"Kanon" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC  ·  "kauen" · 5 letters · shape CVVVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Kanonaknon · kanno · kannon · kanonn · kaonn · kkanon · knaon
  • kauenakuen · kaeun · kauenn · kaune · kkauen · kuaen

Frequency comparison

Kanon#22,786
kauen#22,394

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "Kanon" and "kauen" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "Kanon" is a noun and "kauen" a verb, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "Kanon" or "kauen"?
"kauen" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #22,394 in our German list, against #22,786 for "Kanon". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering Kanon vs kauen

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a noun, it's “Kanon”; for a verb, it's “kauen”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “Kanon” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list