KeimvsKeimenWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

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

#19,273
“Keim” frequency rank
#33,144
“Keimen” frequency rank
52417
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Keim Keimen
Definition Anfang, Beginn, erstes Anzeichen Dativ Plural des Substantivs Keim

Where the eye mixes Keim and Keimen

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. Keim runs 4 letters (CVVC) against Keimen's 6 (CVVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

4 ch
Keim
6 ch
Keimen

Why the eye confuses Keim with Keimen

A purely visual mix-up. Keim ([kaɪ̯m]) and Keimen ([ˈkaɪ̯mən]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they differ by 2 extra letter(s) - “Keim” sits inside “Keimen”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 52417, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Keim is recorded at frequency rank #19,273, classified as anoun, pronounced [kaɪ̯m]. Keimen is at rank #33,144, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈkaɪ̯mən].

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 52417, this pair ranks #1,097,820 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of Keim vs Keimen

Shared letters: eikm. Private to "Keim": -. Private to "Keimen": n.

"Keim" · 4 letters · shape CVVC  ·  "Keimen" · 6 letters · shape CVVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Keim ← ekim · keimm · kemi · kiem · kkeim
  • Keimen ← ekimen · keiemn · keimenn · keimmen · keimne · kemien · kiemen · kkeimen

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "Keim" and "Keimen" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([kaɪ̯m] versus [ˈkaɪ̯mən]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "Keim" or "Keimen"?
"Keim" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #19,273 in our German list, against #33,144 for "Keimen". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

Eye-level mix-up between "Keim" and "Keimen" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.

  • Full dictionary entry for "Keim" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Keimen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,097,820 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Keim" and "Keimen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Keimen vs kneifen". 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 #1,097,820 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list