Which to use
“keep” is a verb and “ker” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #206
- “keep” frequency rank
- #38,929
- “ker” frequency rank
- 39135
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | keep | ker |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | To continue in (a course or mode of action); to not intermit or fall from; to uphold or maintain. | A chief of the Luo people. |
Letter map: keep vs ker
Shared letters muted; letters that set keep and ker apart highlighted. Shared run: 2.
Grammar separator: keep vs ker
Our dataset has no pronunciation recorded for both members, so the reliable separator here is grammatical: keep is averb and keranoun. On the page they differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 39135, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
keep is recorded at frequency rank #206, classified as averb, pronounced /kiːp/. ker is at rank #38,929, tagged as anoun.
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 39135, this pair ranks #279,480 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of keep vs ker
Shared letters: ek. Private to "keep": p. Private to "ker": r.
"keep" · 4 letters · shape CVVC · "ker" · 3 letters · shape CVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- keep ← ekep · keepp · kep · kepe · kkeep
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "keep" and "ker" be used interchangeably?
Frequency check: "keep" vs "ker" - which ranks higher?
After this comparison
Done with this confusable. These links stay specific to "keep" and "ker".
- Full dictionary entry for "keep" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "ker" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #279,480 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "keep" and "ker" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "ker vs Kop". Nearby pair
- Recorded mistypes exist for at least one side of this pair, useful when a spell-checker or OCR lands on the wrong form. See mistypes
Confusion rank #279,480 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.