Which to use
“kein” is a pronoun and “Kino” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #119
- “kein” frequency rank
- #1,974
- “Kino” frequency rank
- 2093
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | kein | Kino |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | null, nichts, Null | Gebäude oder Raum, in dem Filme auf einer Leinwand vorgeführt werden |
Where the eye mixes kein and Kino
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between kein and Kino
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: kein is [kaɪ̯n] while Kino is [ˈkiːno]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 3 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (pronoun vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 2093, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
kein is recorded at frequency rank #119, classified as apron, pronounced [kaɪ̯n]. Kino is at rank #1,974, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈkiːno].
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 2093, this pair ranks #2,003,124 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of kein vs Kino
Shared letters: ikn. Private to "kein": e. Private to "Kino": o.
"kein" · 4 letters · shape CVVC · "Kino" · 4 letters · shape CVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "kein" for "Kino" ever safe?
In ordinary German text, does "kein" or "Kino" show up more?
What to do next
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "kein" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "Kino" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #2,003,124 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "kein" and "Kino" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "kein 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 #2,003,124 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.