Which to use
“Königen” is a noun and “können” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #27,819
- “Königen” frequency rank
- #82
- “können” frequency rank
- 27901
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | Königen | können |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Dativ Plural des Substantivs König | etwas zu tun vermögen |
Where the eye mixes Königen and können
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. Königen runs 7 letters (CVCVCVC) against können's 6 (CVCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Look-alike desk: Königen vs können
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: Königen is [ˈkøːnɪɡn̩] while können is [ˈkœnən]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 27901, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
Königen is recorded at frequency rank #27,819, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈkøːnɪɡn̩]. können is at rank #82, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈkœnən].
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 27901, this pair ranks #1,793,928 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of Königen vs können
Shared letters: eknö. Private to "Königen": gi. Private to "können": -.
"Königen" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCVC · "können" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "Königen" and "können" be used interchangeably?
Frequency check: "Königen" vs "können" - which ranks higher?
What to do next
Eye-level mix-up between "Königen" and "können" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "Königen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "können" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,793,928 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "Königen" and "können" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "können vs konntet". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #1,793,928 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.