kevsKenWhat's the difference?

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

Which to use

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

#20,973
“ke” frequency rank
#8,893
“Ken” frequency rank
29866
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature ke Ken
Definition 2. Person Singular Präsens Indikativ Nichtadmirativ Aktiv zum Verb kam eine von 43 Präfekturen Japans, das insgesamt in 47 Verwaltungsbezirke geteilt ist

Where the spellings diverge

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

2 ch
ke
3 ch
Ken

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

ke and Ken form a confusable pair in the German index, two distinct headwords that are easily confused because they look alike, sound alike, or both. They differ by 1 extra letter(s) - “ke” sits inside “Ken” - close enough that the eye skips over the difference, far enough that meaning fully diverges. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 29866, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

ke is recorded at frequency rank #20,973, classified as averb, pronounced […]. Ken is at rank #8,893, tagged as anoun, 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 29866, this pair ranks #1,758,768 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Frequency comparison

ke#20,973
Ken#8,893

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "ke" and "Ken" be used interchangeably?
No, "ke" and "Ken" have distinct meanings and cannot be swapped without changing the meaning of a sentence. Understanding the specific definition and context for each word is essential for correct usage.

Remembering ke vs Ken

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a verb, it's “ke”; for a noun, it's “Ken”.
  • 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