Which to use
“kill” and “killen” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #14,845
- “kill” frequency rank
- #35,268
- “killen” frequency rank
- 50113
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | kill | killen |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | 2. Person Singular Imperativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs killen | töten |
Where the eye mixes kill and killen
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: kill vs killen
A purely visual mix-up. kill ([kɪl]) and killen ([ˈkɪlən]) 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 2 extra letter(s) - “kill” sits inside “killen”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 50113, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
kill is recorded at frequency rank #14,845, classified as averb, pronounced [kɪl]. killen is at rank #35,268, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈkɪlən].
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 50113, this pair ranks #1,186,158 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of kill vs killen
Shared letters: ikl. Private to "kill": -. Private to "killen": en.
"kill" · 4 letters · shape CVCC · "killen" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "kill" and "killen" be used interchangeably?
Frequency check: "kill" vs "killen" - which ranks higher?
What to do next
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "kill" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "killen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,186,158 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "kill" and "killen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "killen vs Kölle". 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 #1,186,158 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.