Which to use
“Kerne” and “Kerns” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #21,313
- “Kerne” frequency rank
- #39,463
- “Kerns” frequency rank
- 60776
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | Kerne | Kerns |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Variante für den Dativ Singular des Substantivs Kern | Genitiv Singular des Substantivs Kern |
Where the eye mixes Kerne and Kerns
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. Kerne (CVCCV) and Kerns (CVCCC) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.
Why the eye confuses Kerne with Kerns
A purely visual mix-up. Kerne ([ˈkɛʁnə]) and Kerns ([kɛʁns]) 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 - e in “Kerne” becomes s in “Kerns”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 60776, 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]. Kerns is at rank #39,463, tagged as anoun, pronounced [kɛʁns].
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 60776, this pair ranks #774,499 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of Kerne vs Kerns
Shared letters: eknr. Private to "Kerne": -. Private to "Kerns": s.
"Kerne" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV · "Kerns" · 5 letters · shape CVCCC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "Kerne" and "Kerns" mean the same thing in a sentence?
In ordinary German text, does "Kerne" or "Kerns" show up more?
Useful next steps
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "Kerne" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "Kerns" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #774,499 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "Kerne" and "Kerns" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Kerns vs Kölns". 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 #774,499 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.