Which to use
“ke” is a verb and “ko” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #14,717
- “ke” frequency rank
- #9,864
- “ko” frequency rank
- 24581
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | ke | ko |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Deuxième personne du singulier de l’indicatif présent du verbe kam. | Configuration cyclique de pions, si fréquente que des règles spécifiques la traitent. |
Where the eye mixes ke and ko
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 1 letter in sequence.
Visual trap between ke and ko
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: ke is \ˈke\ while ko is \ko\. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by a single letter - e in “ke” becomes o in “ko”, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 24581, 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\. ko is at rank #9,864, tagged as anoun, pronounced \ko\.
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 24581, this pair ranks #345,798 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of ke vs ko
Shared letters: k. Private to "ke": e. Private to "ko": o.
"ke" · 2 letters · shape CV · "ko" · 2 letters · shape CV
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "ke" for "ko" ever safe?
Frequency check: "ke" vs "ko" - which ranks higher?
What to do next
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "ke" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "ko" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #345,798 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "ke" and "ko" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "ke vs ky". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #345,798 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.