KernevsKernenWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

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

#21,313
“Kerne” frequency rank
#32,117
“Kernen” frequency rank
53430
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

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

Where the eye mixes Kerne and Kernen

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

5 ch
Kerne
6 ch
Kernen

Look-alike desk: Kerne vs Kernen

A purely visual mix-up. Kerne ([ˈkɛʁnə]) and Kernen ([ˈkɛʁnən]) 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) - “Kerne” sits inside “Kernen”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 53430, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Kerne is recorded at frequency rank #21,313, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈkɛʁnə]. Kernen is at rank #32,117, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈkɛʁnən].

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 53430, this pair ranks #1,058,312 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of Kerne vs Kernen

Shared letters: eknr. Private to "Kerne": -. Private to "Kernen": -.

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

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Kerne ← ekrne · kenre · keren · kernne · kerrne · kkerne · krene
  • Kernen ← ekrnen · kenren · kerenn · kernenn · kernnen · kerrnen · kkernen · krenen

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "Kerne" and "Kernen" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([ˈkɛʁnə] versus [ˈkɛʁnən]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "Kerne" vs "Kernen" - which ranks higher?
"Kerne" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #21,313 in our German list, against #32,117 for "Kernen". 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 "Kerne" and "Kernen" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.

  • Full dictionary entry for "Kerne" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Kernen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,058,312 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Kerne" and "Kernen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Kernen 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 #1,058,312 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