Which to use
“Kelle” and “Kerne” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #36,441
- “Kelle” frequency rank
- #21,313
- “Kerne” frequency rank
- 57754
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | Kelle | Kerne |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | ein Schöpflöffel | Variante für den Dativ Singular des Substantivs Kern |
Where the eye mixes Kelle and Kerne
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence. Kelle and Kerne follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (CVCCV). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.
Look-alike desk: Kelle vs Kerne
A purely visual mix-up. Kelle ([ˈkɛlə]) and Kerne ([ˈkɛʁnə]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 57754, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
Kelle is recorded at frequency rank #36,441, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈkɛlə]. Kerne is at rank #21,313, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈkɛʁnə].
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 57754, this pair ranks #889,075 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of Kelle vs Kerne
Shared letters: ek. Private to "Kelle": l. Private to "Kerne": nr.
"Kelle" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV · "Kerne" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "Kelle" and "Kerne" mean the same thing in a sentence?
In ordinary German text, does "Kelle" or "Kerne" show up more?
Useful next steps
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "Kelle" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "Kerne" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #889,075 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "Kelle" and "Kerne" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Kelle vs Kölle". 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 #889,075 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.