kau vs kot, What's the Difference?

Which to use

“kau” is a verb and “kot” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#41,934
“kau” frequency rank: #17,056
“kot” frequency rank: 58990
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature	kau	kot
Definition	2. Person Singular Imperativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs kauen	Katze, Kater (Felis silvestris)

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set kau and kot apart are highlighted. They share 1 letter in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

3 ch

kau

3 ch

kot

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: kau is [kaʊ̯] while kot is [kɔt]. 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 (verb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 58990, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

kau is recorded at frequency rank #41,934, classified as averb, pronounced [kaʊ̯]. kot is at rank #17,056, tagged as anoun, pronounced [kɔt].

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 58990, this pair ranks #841,489 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of kau vs kot

Shared letters: k. Private to "kau": au. Private to "kot": ot.

"kau" · 3 letters · shape CVV · "kot" · 3 letters · shape CVC

Frequency comparison

kau#41,934

kot#17,056

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "kau" and "kot" be used interchangeably?

No - they are not even the same part of speech. "kau" is a verb and "kot" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.

Which is more common, "kau" or "kot"?

"kot" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #17,056 in our German list, against #41,934 for "kau". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering kau vs kot

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

Check the role first: if you need a verb, it's “kau”; for a noun, it's “kot”.
See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “kau” entry
Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable