Which to use
“keine” is an unknown and “klink” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #79
- “keine” frequency rank
- #38,853
- “klink” frequency rank
- 38932
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | keine | klink |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Nominativ Singular Femininum attributiv des Indefinitpronomens kein | 2. Person Singular Imperativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs klinken |
Where the eye mixes keine and klink
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence. keine (CVVCV) and klink (CCVCC) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.
Why the eye confuses keine with klink
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: keine is [ˈkaɪ̯nə] while klink is [klɪŋk]. 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 verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 38932, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
keine is recorded at frequency rank #79, classified as anunknown, pronounced [ˈkaɪ̯nə]. klink is at rank #38,853, tagged as averb, pronounced [klɪŋk].
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 38932, this pair ranks #1,550,733 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of keine vs klink
Shared letters: ikn. Private to "keine": e. Private to "klink": l.
"keine" · 5 letters · shape CVVCV · "klink" · 5 letters · shape CCVCC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "keine" for "klink" ever safe?
In ordinary German text, does "keine" or "klink" show up more?
After this comparison
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "keine" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "klink" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,550,733 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "keine" and "klink" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "klink vs klipp". 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 #1,550,733 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.