Keil

[kaɪ̯l]

/[kaɪ̯l]/ noun

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

The verdict

“Keil” sits in 20 confusable pairs (corpus #16,197) as a noun. The look-alike neighbours are the real trap.

#16,197
frequency rank, German
4,158
“K” headwords
4
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - spitz zulaufender Gegenstand aus festem Material in Form eines Prismas mit dreieckiger Grundfläche

Corpus desk

Index DE-keil · Keil · German

Keil · rank #16,197 · 4 variants · 20 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #16,197
  • LEN-MID 4 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
  • VAR-LOW 4 variants
  • BOOK-MID 4,158
  • PHOTO-FINISH kehrten

Nearest frequency peer: kehrten (-1 rank slots)

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Häufigkeitsnachbarn des Verwechslers „Keil“

Peers mit ähnlichem Corpus-Gewicht, getrennt von den Verwechslungspaaren unten

corpus weight

What this shows Balken platzieren „Keil“ gegen die nächsten gerankten deutschen Lemmata, kein Reprint der Verwechslungsdesk.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

Keil vs KI
25% similar
Keil vs Kim
50% similar
Keil vs key
25% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for Keil
PropertyValue
HeadwordKeil
LanguageGerman
Part of speechNoun
IPA[kaɪ̯l]
Letters4
Frequency rank#16,197
Misspellings tracked4
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Corpus-Rang neben Verwechslern von „Keil“

Diese Skala geht vom Kern des Alltagdeutschen (links) bis zum seltenen Langschwanz (rechts).Keilliegt auf dieser Marke:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Die Achse ist logarithmisch: jeder Tick markiert etwa zehnfach geringere Häufigkeit. Peers derselben Seltenheitsbandbreite: „kehrten“ (#16,196), „Kessler“ (#16,198), „Katz“ (#16,195). Unter 4,158 „K“-Lemmata liegt „Keil“ bei #16,197. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Easy to mix with look-alikes

The spelling risk for Keil is neighbouring look-alikes ("KI", "Kim", …), not just typos; it is anoun pronounced [kaɪ̯l]. Frequency #16,197 among 4,158 “K” headwords. 4 recorded senses keep meaning in play.

Our generated misspelling index lists 4 likely wrong-spelling variants for Keil, with forms such as "ekil", "keill", and "keli". Each variant is a distinct typo pattern an edit-distance generator flags, typically a doubled-consonant error, a silent-letter drop, or a vowel substitution. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "KI", "Kim", "key", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

This entry's etymology isn't recorded, so any spelling logic here comes from how the word's sounds map to letters, not a documented origin story. The correct German form is Keil, spelled K-E-I-L.

Definition

  1. 1
    spitz zulaufender Gegenstand aus festem Material in Form eines Prismas mit dreieckiger Grundfläche
  2. 2
    Werkzeug in spitz zulaufender Form zum Spalten von Materialien
  3. 3
    in einem Kleidungsstück eingenähtes dreieckiges Stück Stoff
  4. 4
    Element oder Bestandteil der Keilschrift in Form eines Keiles

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how Keil appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. Um zu verhindern, dass sie zufällt, klemmte er einen Keil unter die Tür.
  2. Ich spalte das Holz mithilfe eines Keils.

Synonyms

BolzenZapfen

This word in other languages

gore(English)cuña(Español)coin(Français)cunha(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • ekil
  • keill
  • keli
  • kkeil

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of Keil - measured in single-character edits (insert, delete, or substitute a letter). Larger bars are easier to catch; one-edit slips are the sneakiest.

ekil2keill1keli2kkeil1
Edit distance from "Keil"

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 German corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "Keil"?
"Keil" is spelled K-E-I-L. The IPA pronunciation is [kaɪ̯l].
What does "Keil" mean?
As a noun, "Keil" means: spitz zulaufender Gegenstand aus festem Material in Form eines Prismas mit dreieckiger Grundfläche
What words are commonly confused with "Keil"?
"Keil" is commonly confused with "KI", "Kim", "key". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "Keil"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "Keil" is [kaɪ̯l]. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "Keil" come from?
"Keil" is a German word. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data for this and other words across English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German on PlainSpell.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar German words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "Keil", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked German headwords with 4 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

Katz#16,195kiss#16,200move#16,226GEMA#16,161

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list