KernervskleinerWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: Kerner is a noun, kleiner is an adjective, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“Kerner” is a noun and “kleiner” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#32,619
“Kerner” frequency rank
#860
“kleiner” frequency rank
33479
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Kerner kleiner
Definition eine weiße Rebsorte, die 1929 aus einer Kreuzung von Trollinger und Riesling hervorgegangen ist (durchgeführt von August Herold an der Staatlichen Lehr- und Versuchsanstalt für Wein-, Obst- und Gartenbau in Weinsberg) Nominativ Singular des Adjektivs klein

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set Kerner and kleiner apart are highlighted. They share 5 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

6 ch
Kerner
7 ch
kleiner

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: Kerner is [ˈkɛʁnɐ] while kleiner is [ˈklaɪ̯nɐ]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 33479, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Kerner is recorded at frequency rank #32,619, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈkɛʁnɐ]. kleiner is at rank #860, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ˈklaɪ̯nɐ].

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 33479, this pair ranks #1,685,141 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of Kerner vs kleiner

Shared letters: eknr. Private to "Kerner": -. Private to "kleiner": il.

"Kerner" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC  ·  "kleiner" · 7 letters · shape CCVVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Kernerekrner · kenrer · kerenr · kernerr · kernner · kernre · kerrner · kkerner
  • kleinerkeliner · kkleiner · kleienr · kleinerr · kleinner · kleinre · klenier · kliener

Frequency comparison

Kerner#32,619
kleiner#860

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "Kerner" and "kleiner" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "Kerner" is a noun and "kleiner" an adjective, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "Kerner" or "kleiner"?
"kleiner" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #860 in our German list, against #32,619 for "Kerner". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

Remembering Kerner vs kleiner

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a noun, it's “Kerner”; for an adjective, it's “kleiner”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “Kerner” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list