KnienvsknownWhat's the difference?

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

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

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set Knien and known apart are highlighted. They share 3 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

5 ch
Knien
5 ch
known

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

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

  • Knienkinen · kknien · knein · knienn · knine · knnien · nkien
  • knownkknown · knnown · knonw · knownn · knowwn · knwon · konwn · nkown

Frequency comparison

Knien#13,640
known#40,645

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "Knien" and "known" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "Knien" is a noun and "known" a verb, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "Knien" or "known"?
"Knien" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #13,640 in our German list, against #40,645 for "known". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering Knien vs known

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

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