kevskehrWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#20,973
“ke” frequency rank
#36,440
“kehr” frequency rank
57413
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature ke kehr
Definition 2. Person Singular Präsens Indikativ Nichtadmirativ Aktiv zum Verb kam 2. Person Singular Imperativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs kehren

Where the spellings diverge

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

2 ch
ke
4 ch
kehr

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

ke and kehr are indexed as a confusable German pair. We have no recorded pronunciation or part of speech for both members, so the spelling overlap is what we can show you: they differ by 2 extra letter(s) - “ke” sits inside “kehr”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 57413, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

ke is recorded at frequency rank #20,973, classified as averb, pronounced […]. kehr is at rank #36,440, tagged as averb, pronounced [keːɐ̯].

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 57413, this pair ranks #902,354 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of ke vs kehr

Shared letters: ek. Private to "ke": -. Private to "kehr": hr.

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

Known mistypes of this pair

  • kehrekhr · kehhr · kehrr · kerh · kher · kkehr

Frequency comparison

ke#20,973
kehr#36,440

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "ke" and "kehr" be used interchangeably?
No. They differ by 2 extra letter(s) - “ke” sits inside “kehr”, but the dictionary glosses above give them different meanings, so swapping one for the other changes what the sentence says.
Which is more common, "ke" or "kehr"?
"ke" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #20,973 in our German list, against #36,440 for "kehr". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering ke vs kehr

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Read both glosses above and match the meaning you intend, only context separates this pair.
  • 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