kanavskunWhat's the difference?

Which to use

“kana” and “kun” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#44,533
“kana” frequency rank
#28,227
“kun” frequency rank
72760
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature kana kun
Definition Caractère japonais qui note une more (et non pas forcément une syllabe). Tête.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set kana and kun apart are highlighted. They share 2 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

4 ch
kana
3 ch
kun

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. kana (\ka.na\) and kun (\kùn\) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 72760, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

kana is recorded at frequency rank #44,533, classified as anoun, pronounced \ka.na\. kun is at rank #28,227, tagged as anoun, pronounced \kùn\.

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 72760, this pair ranks #42,854 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of kana vs kun

Shared letters: kn. Private to "kana": a. Private to "kun": u.

"kana" · 4 letters · shape CVCV  ·  "kun" · 3 letters · shape CVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • kanaakna · kaan · kanna · kkana · knaa

Frequency comparison

kana#44,533
kun#28,227

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "kana" and "kun" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (\ka.na\ versus \kùn\) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "kana" or "kun"?
"kun" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #28,227 in our French list, against #44,533 for "kana". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering kana vs kun

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Read both glosses above and match the meaning you intend, only context separates this pair.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “kana” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list