KantonvsKantonenWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

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

#6,680
“Kanton” frequency rank
#26,926
“Kantonen” frequency rank
33606
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Kanton Kantonen
Definition eine politische Verwaltungseinheit Dativ Plural des Substantivs Kanton

Where the eye mixes Kanton and Kantonen

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. Kanton runs 6 letters (CVCCVC) against Kantonen's 8 (CVCCVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

6 ch
Kanton
8 ch
Kantonen

Look-alike desk: Kanton vs Kantonen

A purely visual mix-up. Kanton ([kanˈtoːn]) and Kantonen ([kanˈtoːnən]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they differ by 2 extra letter(s) - “Kanton” sits inside “Kantonen”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 33606, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Kanton is recorded at frequency rank #6,680, classified as anoun, pronounced [kanˈtoːn]. Kantonen is at rank #26,926, tagged as anoun, pronounced [kanˈtoːnən].

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 33606, this pair ranks #1,682,133 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of Kanton vs Kantonen

Shared letters: aknot. Private to "Kanton": -. Private to "Kantonen": e.

"Kanton" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC  ·  "Kantonen" · 8 letters · shape CVCCVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Kanton ← aknton · kannton · kanotn · kantno · kantonn · kantton · katnon · kkanton
  • Kantonen ← akntonen · kanntonen · kanotnen · kantnoen · kantoenn · kantonenn · kantonnen · kanttonen

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "Kanton" for "Kantonen" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([kanˈtoːn] versus [kanˈtoːnən]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "Kanton" vs "Kantonen" - which ranks higher?
"Kanton" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #6,680 in our German list, against #26,926 for "Kantonen". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.

  • Full dictionary entry for "Kanton" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Kantonen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,682,133 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Kanton" and "Kantonen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "kantig vs Kanton". 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 #1,682,133 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