könnevsKundeWhat's the difference?

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

Which to use

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

#1,423
“könne” frequency rank
#2,981
“Kunde” frequency rank
4404
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature könne Kunde
Definition 1. Person Singular Konjunktiv I Präsens Aktiv des Verbs können jemand, der bei einem bestimmten Geschäft einkauft; der Käufer einer Ware; derjenige, der eine Dienstleistung in Anspruch nimmt; jeder, der für etwas zahlt (auch wenn die Leistung an einen Dritten geht)

Where the spellings diverge

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

5 ch
könne
5 ch
Kunde

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: könne is [ˈkœnə] while Kunde is [ˈkʊndə]. 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 (verb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 4404, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

könne is recorded at frequency rank #1,423, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈkœnə]. Kunde is at rank #2,981, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈkʊndə].

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 4404, this pair ranks #1,997,808 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of könne vs Kunde

Shared letters: ekn. Private to "könne": ö. Private to "Kunde": du.

"könne" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV  ·  "Kunde" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Kundekkunde · knude · kudne · kundde · kuned · kunnde · uknde

Frequency comparison

könne#1,423
Kunde#2,981

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "könne" and "Kunde" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "könne" is a verb and "Kunde" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "könne" or "Kunde"?
"könne" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #1,423 in our German list, against #2,981 for "Kunde". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering könne vs Kunde

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

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