Which to use
“keiner” is a pronoun and “Kellner” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #547
- “keiner” frequency rank
- #9,576
- “Kellner” frequency rank
- 10123
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | keiner | Kellner |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | nicht einer; nicht ein einziger | Angestellter in der Gastronomie, dessen Aufgabe die Bedienung der Gäste ist |
Where the eye mixes keiner and Kellner
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses keiner with Kellner
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: keiner is [ˈkaɪ̯nɐ] while Kellner is [ˈkɛlnɐ]. 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 (pronoun vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 10123, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
keiner is recorded at frequency rank #547, classified as apron, pronounced [ˈkaɪ̯nɐ]. Kellner is at rank #9,576, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈkɛlnɐ].
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 10123, this pair ranks #1,976,676 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of keiner vs Kellner
Shared letters: eknr. Private to "keiner": i. Private to "Kellner": l.
"keiner" · 6 letters · shape CVVCVC · "Kellner" · 7 letters · shape CVCCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "keiner" for "Kellner" ever safe?
In ordinary German text, does "keiner" or "Kellner" show up more?
After this comparison
Eye-level mix-up between "keiner" and "Kellner" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "keiner" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "Kellner" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,976,676 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "keiner" and "Kellner" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Kellers vs Kellner". 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 #1,976,676 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.