Which to use
“kin” is a num and “king” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #39,466
- “kin” frequency rank
- #3,384
- “king” frequency rank
- 42850
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | kin | king |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | fünf (5) | König |
Where the eye mixes kin and king
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses kin with king
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: kin is [kin] while king is [kɪŋ]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 extra letter(s) - “kin” sits inside “king”, and the parts of speech differ too (num vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 42850, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
kin is recorded at frequency rank #39,466, classified as anum, pronounced [kin]. king is at rank #3,384, tagged as anoun, pronounced [kɪŋ].
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 42850, this pair ranks #1,436,524 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of kin vs king
Shared letters: ikn. Private to "kin": -. Private to "king": g.
"kin" · 3 letters · shape CVC · "king" · 4 letters · shape CVCC
Known mistypes of this pair
- king ← ikng · kign · kingg · kinng · kking · knig
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "kin" for "king" ever safe?
In ordinary German text, does "kin" or "king" show up more?
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 "kin" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "king" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,436,524 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "kin" and "king" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "kin vs Koi". 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 #1,436,524 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.