Knien

[ˈkniːən]

/[ˈkniːən]/ noun

The verdict

“Knien” is a moderately-common German word, ranked #13,640 in German word frequency and used as a noun.

#13,640
frequency rank, German
5
letters
7
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Dativ Plural des Substantivs Knie

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

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

Knien vs Krieg
60% similar
Knien vs Küken
60% similar
Knien vs Kühen
60% similar

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

Key facts for Knien
PropertyValue
HeadwordKnien
LanguageGerman
Part of speechNoun
IPA[ˈkniːən]
Letters5
Frequency rank#13,640
Misspellings tracked7
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “Knien” sits in German frequency

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right). Knien lands here:

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

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

The German entry for Knien is 5 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as [ˈkniːən]. Corpus data places it at rank #13,640 in overall German word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. The dominant gloss from Wiktionary reads: "Dativ Plural des Substantivs Knie".

Our generated misspelling index lists 7 likely wrong-spelling variants for Knien, with forms such as "kinen", "kknien", and "knein". Each of these forms differs from the correct spelling by one small edit: a doubled letter, a dropped silent letter, or a substituted vowel. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "Krieg", "Küken", "Kühen", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

This headword's origin isn't recorded in our source data, so spelling patterns must be inferred from the word's phoneme-to-grapheme mapping rather than from a documented borrowing chain. The correct German form is Knien, spelled K-N-I-E-N.

Definition

  1. 1
    Dativ Plural des Substantivs Knie

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as: kinen,kknien,knein,knienn,knine,knnien,nkien

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of Knien - expressed in single-character edits (insert, delete, or swap one letter). Bigger bars stand out at a glance; a one-edit slip is the hardest to catch.

kinen2kknien1knein2knienn1knine2knnien1nkien2
Edit distance from "Knien"

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 "Knien"?
"Knien" is spelled K-N-I-E-N. The IPA pronunciation is [ˈkniːən].
What does "Knien" mean?
As a noun, "Knien" means: Dativ Plural des Substantivs Knie
What words are commonly confused with "Knien"?
"Knien" is commonly confused with "Krieg", "Küken", "Kühen". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "Knien"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "Knien" is [ˈkniːən]. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "Knien" come from?
"Knien" 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.

Using “Knien”

The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.

  • The one correct German spelling is K-N-I-E-N - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Say it as [ˈkniːən] (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
  • Don't mix it up with “Krieg” - see the side-by-side comparison. Knien vs Krieg
  • Browse more German words and confusable pairs in the same reference. German words
Data Source

Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list