keinevskinWhat's the difference?

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

Which to use

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

#79
“keine” frequency rank
#39,466
“kin” frequency rank
39545
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature keine kin
Definition Nominativ Singular Femininum attributiv des Indefinitpronomens kein fünf (5)

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set keine and kin apart are highlighted. They share 3 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

5 ch
keine
3 ch
kin

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: keine is [ˈkaɪ̯nə] while kin is [kin]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 2 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (unknown vs num), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 39545, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

keine is recorded at frequency rank #79, classified as anunknown, pronounced [ˈkaɪ̯nə]. kin is at rank #39,466, tagged as anum, pronounced [kin].

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 39545, this pair ranks #1,533,794 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of keine vs kin

Shared letters: ikn. Private to "keine": e. Private to "kin": -.

"keine" · 5 letters · shape CVVCV  ·  "kin" · 3 letters · shape CVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • keineekine · keien · keinne · kenie · kiene · kkeine

Frequency comparison

keine#79
kin#39,466

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "keine" and "kin" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "keine" is an unknown and "kin" a num, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "keine" or "kin"?
"keine" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #79 in our German list, against #39,466 for "kin". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

Remembering keine vs kin

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

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