Which to use
“kennen” and “klonen” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #733
- “kennen” frequency rank
- #40,034
- “klonen” frequency rank
- 40767
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | kennen | klonen |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | über jemanden/etwas Bescheid wissen | ungeschlechtlich fortpflanzen, zum Beispiel indem man Stecklinge oder Senker setzt |
Where the eye mixes kennen and klonen
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. kennen (CVCCVC) and klonen (CCVCVC) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.
Why the eye confuses kennen with klonen
A purely visual mix-up. kennen ([ˈkɛnən]) and klonen ([ˈkloːnən]) 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 40767, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
kennen is recorded at frequency rank #733, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈkɛnən]. klonen is at rank #40,034, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈkloːnən].
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 40767, this pair ranks #1,498,892 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of kennen vs klonen
Shared letters: ekn. Private to "kennen": -. Private to "klonen": lo.
"kennen" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC · "klonen" · 6 letters · shape CCVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "kennen" and "klonen" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Frequency check: "kennen" vs "klonen" - which ranks higher?
What to do next
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "kennen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "klonen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,498,892 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "kennen" and "klonen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "klonen vs kloppen". 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 #1,498,892 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.