kennevsKeuleWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: kenne is a verb, Keule is a noun, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“kenne” is a verb and “Keule” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#882
“kenne” frequency rank
#22,396
“Keule” frequency rank
23278
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature kenne Keule
Definition 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs kennen ein Werkzeug oder Schlagwaffe, bestehend aus einem Griff und einem schweren Ende

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set kenne and Keule apart are highlighted. They share 3 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

5 ch
kenne
5 ch
Keule

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: kenne is [ˈkɛnə] while Keule is [ˈkɔɪ̯lə]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 23278, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

kenne is recorded at frequency rank #882, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈkɛnə]. Keule is at rank #22,396, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈkɔɪ̯lə].

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 23278, this pair ranks #1,863,360 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of kenne vs Keule

Shared letters: ek. Private to "kenne": n. Private to "Keule": lu.

"kenne" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV  ·  "Keule" · 5 letters · shape CVVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • kenneeknne · kene · kkenne · knene
  • Keuleekule · kelue · keuel · keulle · kkeule · kuele

Frequency comparison

kenne#882
Keule#22,396

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "kenne" and "Keule" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "kenne" is a verb and "Keule" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "kenne" or "Keule"?
"kenne" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #882 in our German list, against #22,396 for "Keule". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

Remembering kenne vs Keule

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a verb, it's “kenne”; for a noun, it's “Keule”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “kenne” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list