Which to use
“keine” is an unknown and “Kerns” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #79
- “keine” frequency rank
- #39,463
- “Kerns” frequency rank
- 39542
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | keine | Kerns |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Nominativ Singular Femininum attributiv des Indefinitpronomens kein | Genitiv Singular des Substantivs Kern |
Where the spellings diverge
Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set keine and Kerns apart are highlighted. They share 3 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: keine is [ˈkaɪ̯nə] while Kerns is [kɛʁns]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (unknown vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 39542, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
keine is recorded at frequency rank #79, classified as anunknown, pronounced [ˈkaɪ̯nə]. Kerns is at rank #39,463, tagged as anoun, pronounced [kɛʁns].
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 39542, this pair ranks #1,533,875 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of keine vs Kerns
Shared letters: ekn. Private to "keine": i. Private to "Kerns": rs.
"keine" · 5 letters · shape CVVCV · "Kerns" · 5 letters · shape CVCCC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequency comparison
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "keine" and "Kerns" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "keine" or "Kerns"?
Remembering keine vs Kerns
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 “Kerns”.
- 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