KindernvskonternWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: Kindern is a noun, kontern is a verb, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“Kindern” is a noun and “kontern” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#883
“Kindern” frequency rank
#29,197
“kontern” frequency rank
30080
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Kindern kontern
Definition Dativ Plural des Substantivs Kind eine Rede oder Maßnahme mit Gegenrede oder -maßnahmen beantworten

Where the spellings diverge

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

7 ch
Kindern
7 ch
kontern

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: Kindern is [ˈkɪndɐn] while kontern is [ˈkɔntɐn]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 30080, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Kindern is recorded at frequency rank #883, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈkɪndɐn]. kontern is at rank #29,197, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈkɔntɐn].

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 30080, this pair ranks #1,754,803 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of Kindern vs kontern

Shared letters: eknr. Private to "Kindern": di. Private to "kontern": ot.

"Kindern" · 7 letters · shape CVCCVCC  ·  "kontern" · 7 letters · shape CVCCVCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Kindernikndern · kidnern · kinddern · kindenr · kindernn · kinderrn · kindren · kinedrn
  • konternkkontern · knotern · konetrn · konntern · kontenr · konternn · konterrn · kontren

Frequency comparison

Kindern#883
kontern#29,197

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "Kindern" and "kontern" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "Kindern" is a noun and "kontern" a verb, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "Kindern" or "kontern"?
"Kindern" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #883 in our German list, against #29,197 for "kontern". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

Remembering Kindern vs kontern

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a noun, it's “Kindern”; for a verb, it's “kontern”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “Kindern” 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