keinevskeinsWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#79
“keine” frequency rank
#8,734
“keins” frequency rank
8813
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature keine keins
Definition Nominativ Singular Femininum attributiv des Indefinitpronomens kein Nominativ Singular Neutrum nicht attributiv des Indefinitpronomens kein

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set keine and keins apart are highlighted. They share 4 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

5 ch
keine
5 ch
keins

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

keine and keins 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 a single letter - e in “keine” becomes s in “keins” - close enough that the eye skips over the difference, far enough that meaning fully diverges. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 8813, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

keine is recorded at frequency rank #79, classified as anunknown, pronounced [ˈkaɪ̯nə]. keins is at rank #8,734, tagged as anunknown, pronounced [kaɪ̯ns].

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 8813, this pair ranks #1,982,714 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Frequency comparison

keine#79
keins#8,734

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "keine" and "keins" be used interchangeably?
No, "keine" and "keins" have distinct meanings and cannot be swapped without changing the meaning of a sentence. Understanding the specific definition and context for each word is essential for correct usage.

Remembering keine vs keins

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Read both glosses above and match the meaning you intend, only context separates this pair.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “keine” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list