kevskeckWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: ke is a verb, keck is an adjective, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“ke” is a verb and “keck” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#20,973
“ke” frequency rank
#33,143
“keck” frequency rank
54116
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature ke keck
Definition 2. Person Singular Präsens Indikativ Nichtadmirativ Aktiv zum Verb kam auf eine angenehme, ansprechende Art und Weise frech, respektlos oder vorlaut

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set ke and keck apart are highlighted. They share 2 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

2 ch
ke
4 ch
keck

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

Our dataset has no pronunciation recorded for both members, so the reliable separator here is grammatical: ke is averb and keckanadjective. On the page they differ by 2 extra letter(s) - “ke” sits inside “keck”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 54116, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

ke is recorded at frequency rank #20,973, classified as averb, pronounced […]. keck is at rank #33,143, tagged as anadj, pronounced [kɛk].

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 54116, this pair ranks #1,031,456 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of ke vs keck

Shared letters: ek. Private to "ke": -. Private to "keck": c.

"ke" · 2 letters · shape CV  ·  "keck" · 4 letters · shape CVCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • keckekck · kcek · kecck · keckk · kekc · kkeck

Frequency comparison

ke#20,973
keck#33,143

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "ke" and "keck" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "ke" is a verb and "keck" an adjective, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "ke" or "keck"?
"ke" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #20,973 in our German list, against #33,143 for "keck". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering ke vs keck

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a verb, it's “ke”; for an adjective, it's “keck”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “ke” 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