kennvskenntTell them apart

Which to use

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

#3,750
“kenn” frequency rank
#832
“kennt” frequency rank
4582
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature kenn kennt
Definition 2. Person Singular Imperativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs kennen 3. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs kennen

Where the eye mixes kenn and kennt

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

4 ch
kenn
5 ch
kennt

Why the eye confuses kenn with kennt

A purely visual mix-up. kenn ([kɛn]) and kennt ([kɛnt]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they differ by 1 extra letter(s) - “kenn” sits inside “kennt”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 4582, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

kenn is recorded at frequency rank #3,750, classified as averb, pronounced [kɛn]. kennt is at rank #832, tagged as averb, pronounced [kɛnt].

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 4582, this pair ranks #1,997,311 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of kenn vs kennt

Shared letters: ekn. Private to "kenn": -. Private to "kennt": t.

"kenn" · 4 letters · shape CVCC  ·  "kennt" · 5 letters · shape CVCCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • kenneknn · kkenn · knen
  • kennteknnt · kenntt · kentn · kkennt · knent

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "kenn" for "kennt" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([kɛn] versus [kɛnt]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "kenn" vs "kennt" - which ranks higher?
"kennt" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #832 in our German list, against #3,750 for "kenn". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

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

  • Full dictionary entry for "kenn" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "kennt" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,997,311 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "kenn" and "kennt" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "kennt vs krönt". 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 #1,997,311 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