Which to use
“kein” is a pronoun and “keinen” is an unknown - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #119
- “kein” frequency rank
- #235
- “keinen” frequency rank
- 354
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | kein | keinen |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | null, nichts, Null | Akkusativ Singular Maskulinum des Indefinitpronomens keiner |
Where the spellings diverge
Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set kein and keinen apart are highlighted. They share 4 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
kein and keinen 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 2 extra letter(s) - “kein” sits inside “keinen” - close enough that the eye skips over the difference, far enough that meaning fully diverges. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 354, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
kein is recorded at frequency rank #119, classified as apron, pronounced [kaɪ̯n]. keinen is at rank #235, tagged as anunknown, pronounced [ˈkaɪ̯nən].
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 354, this pair ranks #2,005,956 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Frequency comparison
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "kein" and "keinen" be used interchangeably?
Remembering kein vs keinen
The fastest way to pick the right one every time.
- Check the role first: if you need a pronoun, it's “kein”; for an unknown, it's “keinen”.
- See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “kein” entry
- Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable