Which to use
“kicken” and “kochen” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #28,270
- “kicken” frequency rank
- #2,506
- “kochen” frequency rank
- 30776
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | kicken | kochen |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | etwas oder jemanden treten | Lebensmittel unter Einwirkung von Hitze zu einer Mahlzeit zubereiten |
Where the eye mixes kicken and kochen
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses kicken with kochen
A purely visual mix-up. kicken ([ˈkɪkn̩]) and kochen ([ˈkɔxn̩]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 30776, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
kicken is recorded at frequency rank #28,270, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈkɪkn̩]. kochen is at rank #2,506, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈkɔxn̩].
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 30776, this pair ranks #1,741,292 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of kicken vs kochen
Shared letters: cekn. Private to "kicken": i. Private to "kochen": ho.
"kicken" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC · "kochen" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "kicken" and "kochen" be used interchangeably?
Frequency check: "kicken" vs "kochen" - which ranks higher?
After this comparison
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "kicken" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "kochen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,741,292 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "kicken" and "kochen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "kicken vs kucken". Nearby pair
- Recorded mistypes exist for at least one side of this pair, useful when a spell-checker or OCR lands on the wrong form. See mistypes
Confusion rank #1,741,292 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.