können vs kühnen, What's the Difference?

Which to use

“können” is a verb and “kühnen” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#82
“können” frequency rank: #38,244
“kühnen” frequency rank: 38326
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature	können	kühnen
Definition	etwas zu tun vermögen	Genitiv Singular Maskulinum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs kühn

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set können and kühnen apart are highlighted. They share 4 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

6 ch

können

6 ch

kühnen

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: können is [ˈkœnən] while kühnen is [ˈkyːnən]. 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 adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 38326, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

können is recorded at frequency rank #82, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈkœnən]. kühnen is at rank #38,244, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ˈkyːnən].

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 38326, this pair ranks #1,566,890 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of können vs kühnen

Shared letters: ekn. Private to "können": ö. Private to "kühnen": hü.

"können" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC · "kühnen" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC

Frequency comparison

können#82

kühnen#38,244

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "können" and "kühnen" be used interchangeably?

No - they are not even the same part of speech. "können" is a verb and "kühnen" an adjective, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.

Which is more common, "können" or "kühnen"?

"können" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #82 in our German list, against #38,244 for "kühnen". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

Remembering können vs kühnen

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

Check the role first: if you need a verb, it's “können”; for an adjective, it's “kühnen”.
See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “können” entry
Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable