keinemvsKernerConfusable pair

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

Which to use

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

#1,926
“keinem” frequency rank
#32,619
“Kerner” frequency rank
34545
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature keinem Kerner
Definition Dativ Singular Maskulinum 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 eye mixes keinem and Kerner

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.

6 ch
keinem
6 ch
Kerner

Why the eye confuses keinem with Kerner

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: keinem is [ˈkaɪ̯nəm] while Kerner is [ˈkɛʁnɐ]. 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 34545, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

keinem is recorded at frequency rank #1,926, classified as anunknown, pronounced [ˈkaɪ̯nəm]. 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 34545, this pair ranks #1,660,857 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of keinem vs Kerner

Shared letters: ekn. Private to "keinem": im. Private to "Kerner": r.

"keinem" · 6 letters · shape CVVCVC  ·  "Kerner" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • keinemekinem · keienm · keinemm · keinme · keinnem · keniem · kienem · kkeinem
  • Kernerekrner · kenrer · kerenr · kernerr · kernner · kernre · kerrner · kkerner

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "keinem" and "Kerner" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "keinem" is an unknown and "Kerner" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "keinem" or "Kerner"?
"keinem" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #1,926 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.

Useful next steps

Eye-level mix-up between "keinem" and "Kerner" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.

  • Full dictionary entry for "keinem" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Kerner" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,660,857 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "keinem" and "Kerner" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Kerner vs Kerns". 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 #1,660,857 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list