Which to use
“Kerbe” and “Kerne” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #36,443
- “Kerbe” frequency rank
- #21,313
- “Kerne” frequency rank
- 57756
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | Kerbe | Kerne |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | eine keilförmige Vertiefung | Variante für den Dativ Singular des Substantivs Kern |
Where the eye mixes Kerbe and Kerne
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. Kerbe and Kerne follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (CVCCV). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.
Visual trap between Kerbe and Kerne
A purely visual mix-up. Kerbe ([ˈkɛʁbə]) 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 differ by a single letter - b in “Kerbe” becomes n in “Kerne”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 57756, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
Kerbe is recorded at frequency rank #36,443, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈkɛʁbə]. 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 57756, this pair ranks #888,995 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of Kerbe vs Kerne
Shared letters: ekr. Private to "Kerbe": b. Private to "Kerne": n.
"Kerbe" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV · "Kerne" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "Kerbe" and "Kerne" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "Kerbe" or "Kerne"?
After this comparison
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "Kerbe" 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 #888,995 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "Kerbe" and "Kerne" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "karge vs Kerbe". 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 #888,995 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.