Which to use
“Keil” is a noun and “kein” is a pronoun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #16,197
- “Keil” frequency rank
- #119
- “kein” frequency rank
- 16316
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | Keil | kein |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | spitz zulaufender Gegenstand aus festem Material in Form eines Prismas mit dreieckiger Grundfläche | null, nichts, Null |
Where the eye mixes Keil and kein
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between Keil and kein
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: Keil is [kaɪ̯l] while kein is [kaɪ̯n]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by a single letter - l in “Keil” becomes n in “kein”, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs pronoun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 16316, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
Keil is recorded at frequency rank #16,197, classified as anoun, pronounced [kaɪ̯l]. kein is at rank #119, tagged as apron, pronounced [kaɪ̯n].
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 16316, this pair ranks #1,936,847 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of Keil vs kein
Shared letters: eik. Private to "Keil": l. Private to "kein": n.
"Keil" · 4 letters · shape CVVC · "kein" · 4 letters · shape CVVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "Keil" and "kein" be used interchangeably?
Frequency check: "Keil" vs "kein" - which ranks higher?
What to do next
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "Keil" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "kein" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,936,847 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "Keil" and "kein" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Keil vs Koi". 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 #1,936,847 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.