KerlenvsKerneWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

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

#35,868
“Kerlen” frequency rank
#21,313
“Kerne” frequency rank
57181
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Kerlen Kerne
Definition Dativ Plural des Substantivs Kerl Variante für den Dativ Singular des Substantivs Kern

Where the eye mixes Kerlen and Kerne

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. Kerlen runs 6 letters (CVCCVC) against Kerne's 5 (CVCCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

6 ch
Kerlen
5 ch
Kerne

Visual trap between Kerlen and Kerne

A purely visual mix-up. Kerlen ([ˈkɛʁlən]) 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 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 57181, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Kerlen is recorded at frequency rank #35,868, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈkɛʁlən]. 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 57181, this pair ranks #911,348 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of Kerlen vs Kerne

Shared letters: eknr. Private to "Kerlen": l. Private to "Kerne": -.

"Kerlen" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC  ·  "Kerne" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Kerlen ← ekrlen · kelren · kereln · kerlenn · kerllen · kerlne · kerrlen · kkerlen
  • Kerne ← ekrne · kenre · keren · kernne · kerrne · kkerne · krene

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "Kerlen" and "Kerne" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ˈkɛʁlən] versus [ˈkɛʁnə]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "Kerlen" or "Kerne"?
"Kerne" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #21,313 in our German list, against #35,868 for "Kerlen". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Useful next steps

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

  • Full dictionary entry for "Kerlen" 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 #911,348 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Kerlen" and "Kerne" 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 #911,348 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