Which to use
“Käse” is a noun and “kost” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #3,754
- “Käse” frequency rank
- #13,418
- “kost” frequency rank
- 17172
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | Käse | kost |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | ein festes Milchprodukt | 2. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs kosen |
Where the spellings diverge
Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set Käse and kost apart are highlighted. They share 2 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: Käse is [ˈkɛːzə] while kost is [koːst]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 17172, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
Käse is recorded at frequency rank #3,754, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈkɛːzə]. kost is at rank #13,418, tagged as averb, pronounced [koːst].
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 17172, this pair ranks #1,929,735 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of Käse vs kost
Shared letters: ks. Private to "Käse": eä. Private to "kost": ot.
"Käse" · 4 letters · shape CVCV · "kost" · 4 letters · shape CVCC
Known mistypes of this pair
- kost ← kkost · kosst · kostt · kots · ksot · okst
Frequency comparison
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "Käse" and "kost" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "Käse" or "kost"?
Remembering Käse vs kost
The fastest way to pick the right one every time.
- Check the role first: if you need a noun, it's “Käse”; for a verb, it's “kost”.
- See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “Käse” entry
- Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable