Which to use
“keep” is a noun and “kehr” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #17,630
- “keep” frequency rank
- #36,440
- “kehr” frequency rank
- 54070
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | keep | kehr |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Wehrturm, Burgturm, Bergfried | 2. Person Singular Imperativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs kehren |
Where the eye mixes keep and kehr
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses keep with kehr
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: keep is [kiːp] while kehr is [keːɐ̯]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 54070, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
keep is recorded at frequency rank #17,630, classified as anoun, pronounced [kiːp]. 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 54070, this pair ranks #1,033,302 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of keep vs kehr
Shared letters: ek. Private to "keep": p. Private to "kehr": hr.
"keep" · 4 letters · shape CVVC · "kehr" · 4 letters · shape CVCC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "keep" and "kehr" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "keep" or "kehr"?
Useful next steps
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "keep" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "kehr" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,033,302 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "keep" and "kehr" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Kar vs kehr". 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 #1,033,302 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.