keinevsKernerWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: keine is a unknown, Kerner is a noun, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“keine” is an unknown and “Kerner” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#79
“keine” frequency rank
#32,619
“Kerner” frequency rank
32698
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature keine Kerner
Definition Nominativ Singular Femininum attributiv des Indefinitpronomens kein eine weiße Rebsorte, die 1929 aus einer Kreuzung von Trollinger und Riesling hervorgegangen ist (durchgeführt von August Herold an der Staatlichen Lehr- und Versuchsanstalt für Wein-, Obst- und Gartenbau in Weinsberg)

Where the spellings diverge

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

5 ch
keine
6 ch
Kerner

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: keine is [ˈkaɪ̯nə] while Kerner is [ˈkɛʁnɐ]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (unknown vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 32698, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

keine is recorded at frequency rank #79, classified as anunknown, pronounced [ˈkaɪ̯nə]. Kerner is at rank #32,619, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈkɛʁnɐ].

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 32698, this pair ranks #1,701,971 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of keine vs Kerner

Shared letters: ekn. Private to "keine": i. Private to "Kerner": r.

"keine" · 5 letters · shape CVVCV  ·  "Kerner" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • keineekine · keien · keinne · kenie · kiene · kkeine
  • Kernerekrner · kenrer · kerenr · kernerr · kernner · kernre · kerrner · kkerner

Frequency comparison

keine#79
Kerner#32,619

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "keine" and "Kerner" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "keine" is an unknown and "Kerner" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "keine" or "Kerner"?
"keine" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #79 in our German list, against #32,619 for "Kerner". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

Remembering keine vs Kerner

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need an unknown, it's “keine”; for a noun, it's “Kerner”.
  • 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