KellervsKerlenWhat's the difference?

Which to use

“Keller” and “Kerlen” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#2,208
“Keller” frequency rank
#35,868
“Kerlen” frequency rank
38076
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Keller Kerlen
Definition unterirdischer Vorratsraum Dativ Plural des Substantivs Kerl

Where the eye mixes Keller and Kerlen

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

6 ch
Keller
6 ch
Kerlen

Visual trap between Keller and Kerlen

A purely visual mix-up. Keller ([ˈkɛlɐ]) and Kerlen ([ˈkɛʁlən]) 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 38076, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Keller is recorded at frequency rank #2,208, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈkɛlɐ]. Kerlen is at rank #35,868, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈkɛʁlən].

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 38076, this pair ranks #1,573,413 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of Keller vs Kerlen

Shared letters: eklr. Private to "Keller": -. Private to "Kerlen": n.

"Keller" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC  ·  "Kerlen" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Kellerekller · kelelr · keler · kellerr · kellre · kkeller · kleler
  • Kerlenekrlen · kelren · kereln · kerlenn · kerllen · kerlne · kerrlen · kkerlen

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "Keller" for "Kerlen" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([ˈkɛlɐ] versus [ˈkɛʁlən]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
In ordinary German text, does "Keller" or "Kerlen" show up more?
"Keller" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #2,208 in our German list, against #35,868 for "Kerlen". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

What to do next

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

  • Full dictionary entry for "Keller" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Kerlen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,573,413 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Keller" and "Kerlen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Kerlen vs Keulen". 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 #1,573,413 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