Ken or kin?
ken is a verb meaning “To know, perceive or understand”; kin is a noun meaning “Race; family; breed; kind”. Use ken as a verb and kin as a noun (kin is also a verb: “To identify with; as in spiritually connect to a fictional…”). In written English (wordfreq, 2021 data) ken is about 3.6 times as common as kin.
What is the difference between ken and kin?
| ken | kin | |
|---|---|---|
| Part of speech | verb, noun | noun, adjective, verb, suffix, interfix |
| Meaning | ScotlandTo know, perceive or understand Range of perception Knowledge, perception, or sight | Race; family; breed; kind Persons of the same race or family; kindred Related by blood or marriage, akin. (It is more common to form sentences using the noun instead.) |
| Example | none recorded | the starfish and its kin the sea urchin |
| Forms | kens, kenning, kenned kens, kenning, kenned, kent | kins |
| Pronunciation | /kɛn/ /kɪn/ | /kɪn/ [k̟ʰɪn] |
| In writing | 16 times per million words | 4.5 times per million words |
Sources: ken and kin in the English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0); written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
Every current meaning of ken and kin
ken
- 1
ScotlandTo know, perceive or understand
- 2
Range of perception
- 3
UKslangA house, especially a den of thieves
- 4
Youth or children's group
- 5
A Japanese unit of length equal to six shakus
- 6
The tsurugi (type of sword)
- 7
Knowledge, perception, or sight
- 8
Range of sight
kin
- 1
Race; family; breed; kind
the starfish and its kin the sea urchin
- 2
Related by blood or marriage, akin. (It is more common to form sentences using the noun instead.)
It turns out my back-fence neighbor is kin to one of my co-workers
- 3
Alternative form of qin (“Chinese string instrument”)
- 4
slangTo identify with; as in spiritually connect to a fictional or non-fictional being
- 5
slangA fictional or non-fictional being whom one spiritually connects to
- 6
Alternative form of k'in
- 7
Pronunciation spelling of can
- 8
colloquialClipping of kinesiology
Source: the English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0); obsolete, archaic, dialect and rare senses left out.
Which is more common, ken or kin?
ken appears 16 times per million words; kin 4.5 times per million words.
ken 16 times per million wordskin 4.5 times per million words
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).