KasernevsKerneTell them apart

Which to use

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

#11,680
“Kaserne” frequency rank
#21,313
“Kerne” frequency rank
32993
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Kaserne Kerne
Definition ein Gebäude für die permanente Unterkunft von Soldaten oder (Polizei-)Truppen Variante für den Dativ Singular des Substantivs Kern

Where the eye mixes Kaserne and Kerne

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. Kaserne runs 7 letters (CVCVCCV) against Kerne's 5 (CVCCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

7 ch
Kaserne
5 ch
Kerne

Why the eye confuses Kaserne with Kerne

A purely visual mix-up. Kaserne ([kaˈzɛʁnə]) and Kerne ([ˈkɛʁnə]) 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 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 32993, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Kaserne is recorded at frequency rank #11,680, classified as anoun, pronounced [kaˈzɛʁnə]. Kerne is at rank #21,313, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈkɛʁnə].

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 32993, this pair ranks #1,695,623 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of Kaserne vs Kerne

Shared letters: eknr. Private to "Kaserne": as. Private to "Kerne": -.

"Kaserne" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCCV  ·  "Kerne" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Kaserneakserne · kaesrne · kasenre · kaseren · kasernne · kaserrne · kasrene · kasserne
  • Kerneekrne · kenre · keren · kernne · kerrne · kkerne · krene

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "Kaserne" for "Kerne" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([kaˈzɛʁnə] versus [ˈkɛʁnə]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "Kaserne" vs "Kerne" - which ranks higher?
"Kaserne" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #11,680 in our German list, against #21,313 for "Kerne". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

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

  • Full dictionary entry for "Kaserne" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Kerne" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,695,623 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Kaserne" and "Kerne" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "karge vs Kerne". 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 #1,695,623 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