Which to use
“König” is a noun and “könne” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #816
- “König” frequency rank
- #1,423
- “könne” frequency rank
- 2239
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | König | könne |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | höchster oder historisch hoher (nach dem Kaiser) monarchischer Würdenträger eines Staates, eines Königreiches; Namensbestandteil von Titelbezeichnungen | 1. Person Singular Konjunktiv I Präsens Aktiv des Verbs können |
Where the eye mixes König and könne
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: König is [ˈkøːnɪç] while könne is [ˈkœnə]. 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 2239, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
König is recorded at frequency rank #816, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈkøːnɪç]. könne is at rank #1,423, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈkœnə].
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 2239, this pair ranks #2,002,798 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of König vs könne
Shared letters: knö. Private to "König": gi. Private to "könne": e.
"König" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC · "könne" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "König" and "könne" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "König" or "könne"?
What to do next
You've compared "König" and "könne". Here's where to go from here.
- Full dictionary entry for "König" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "könne" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #2,002,798 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "König" and "könne" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Kölle vs könne". Nearby pair
PlainSpell is a reference corpus, not spelling advice. Verify unusual forms in context.