Which to use
“keins” is an unknown and “kin” is a num - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #8,734
- “keins” frequency rank
- #39,466
- “kin” frequency rank
- 48200
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | keins | kin |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Nominativ Singular Neutrum nicht attributiv des Indefinitpronomens kein | fünf (5) |
Where the eye mixes keins and kin
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence. keins runs 5 letters (CVVCC) against kin's 3 (CVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses keins with kin
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: keins is [kaɪ̯ns] 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 48200, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
keins is recorded at frequency rank #8,734, classified as anunknown, pronounced [kaɪ̯ns]. 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 48200, this pair ranks #1,257,222 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of keins vs kin
Shared letters: ikn. Private to "keins": es. Private to "kin": -.
"keins" · 5 letters · shape CVVCC · "kin" · 3 letters · shape CVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- keins ← ekins · keinns · keinss · keisn · kenis · kiens · kkeins
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "keins" and "kin" mean the same thing in a sentence?
In ordinary German text, does "keins" or "kin" show up more?
Useful next steps
Eye-level mix-up between "keins" and "kin" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "keins" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "kin" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,257,222 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "keins" and "kin" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "kin vs Koi". 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 #1,257,222 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.