Which to use
“Knien” is a noun and “known” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #13,640
- “Knien” frequency rank
- #40,645
- “known” frequency rank
- 54285
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | Knien | known |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Dativ Plural des Substantivs Knie | Partizip Perfekt (past participle) des Verbs know |
Letter map: Knien vs known
Shared letters muted; letters that set Knien and known apart highlighted. Shared run: 3. Knien (CCVVC) and known (CCVCC) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.
Role in the sentence - Knien and known
Our dataset has no pronunciation recorded for both members, so the reliable separator here is grammatical: Knien is anoun and knownaverb. On the page they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 54285, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
Knien is recorded at frequency rank #13,640, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈkniːən]. known is at rank #40,645, tagged as averb, pronounced […].
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 54285, this pair ranks #1,024,750 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of Knien vs known
Shared letters: kn. Private to "Knien": ei. Private to "known": ow.
"Knien" · 5 letters · shape CCVVC · "known" · 5 letters · shape CCVCC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "Knien" for "known" ever safe?
In ordinary German text, does "Knien" or "known" show up more?
After this comparison
Done with this confusable. These links stay specific to "Knien" and "known".
- Full dictionary entry for "Knien" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "known" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,024,750 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "Knien" and "known" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "known vs puzzles". 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 #1,024,750 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.