KanonvsknownWhat's the difference?

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

Which to use

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

#22,786
“Kanon” frequency rank
#40,645
“known” frequency rank
63431
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Kanon known
Definition eine Liste von wichtigen und oft als verbindlich oder grundlegend angesehenen Schriften oder Werken in Religion, Literatur, Musik, Kunst und vielen Wissenschaften Partizip Perfekt (past participle) des Verbs know

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set Kanon and known apart are highlighted. They share 4 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

5 ch
Kanon
5 ch
known

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

Our dataset has no pronunciation recorded for both members, so the reliable separator here is grammatical: Kanon is anoun and knownaverb. On the page they share most of their letters but differ in 3 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 63431, 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]. known is at rank #40,645, 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 63431, this pair ranks #677,093 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of Kanon vs known

Shared letters: kno. Private to "Kanon": a. Private to "known": w.

"Kanon" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC  ·  "known" · 5 letters · shape CCVCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Kanonaknon · kanno · kannon · kanonn · kaonn · kkanon · knaon
  • knownkknown · knnown · knonw · knownn · knowwn · knwon · konwn · nkown

Frequency comparison

Kanon#22,786
known#40,645

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "Kanon" and "known" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "Kanon" is a noun and "known" a verb, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "Kanon" or "known"?
"Kanon" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #22,786 in our German list, against #40,645 for "known". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering Kanon vs known

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 “known”.
  • 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