KeimenvsKernenWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#33,144
“Keimen” frequency rank
#32,117
“Kernen” frequency rank
65261
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Keimen Kernen
Definition Dativ Plural des Substantivs Keim Dativ Plural des Substantivs Kern

Where the eye mixes Keimen and Kernen

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. Keimen (CVVCVC) and Kernen (CVCCVC) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.

6 ch
Keimen
6 ch
Kernen

Visual trap between Keimen and Kernen

A purely visual mix-up. Keimen ([ˈkaɪ̯mən]) and Kernen ([ˈkɛʁnən]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 65261, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Keimen is recorded at frequency rank #33,144, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈkaɪ̯mən]. Kernen is at rank #32,117, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈkɛʁnən].

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 65261, this pair ranks #612,996 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of Keimen vs Kernen

Shared letters: ekn. Private to "Keimen": im. Private to "Kernen": r.

"Keimen" · 6 letters · shape CVVCVC  ·  "Kernen" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Keimen ← ekimen · keiemn · keimenn · keimmen · keimne · kemien · kiemen · kkeimen
  • Kernen ← ekrnen · kenren · kerenn · kernenn · kernnen · kerrnen · kkernen · krenen

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "Keimen" for "Kernen" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([ˈkaɪ̯mən] versus [ˈkɛʁnən]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "Keimen" or "Kernen"?
"Kernen" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #32,117 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.

After this comparison

Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.

  • Full dictionary entry for "Keimen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Kernen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #612,996 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Keimen" and "Kernen" 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 #612,996 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