Which to use
“ke” and “ken” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #14,717
- “ke” frequency rank
- #6,971
- “ken” frequency rank
- 21688
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | ke | ken |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Deuxième personne du singulier de l’indicatif présent du verbe kam. | Niquer (au sens sexuel), faire l’amour. |
Where the eye mixes ke and ken
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: ke vs ken
A purely visual mix-up. ke (\ˈke\) and ken (\kɛn\) 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 extra letter(s) - “ke” sits inside “ken”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 21688, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
ke is recorded at frequency rank #14,717, classified as averb, pronounced \ˈke\. ken is at rank #6,971, tagged as averb, pronounced \kɛn\.
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 21688, this pair ranks #361,930 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of ke vs ken
Shared letters: ek. Private to "ke": -. Private to "ken": n.
"ke" · 2 letters · shape CV · "ken" · 3 letters · shape CVC
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "ke" and "ken" be used interchangeably?
Frequency check: "ke" vs "ken" - which ranks higher?
After this comparison
Eye-level mix-up between "ke" and "ken" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "ke" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "ken" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #361,930 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "ke" and "ken" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "ke vs ky". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #361,930 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.