kidvskomConfusable pair

Quick tell: kid is a noun, kom is a verb, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

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

#13,410
“kid” frequency rank
#26,482
“kom” frequency rank
39892
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature kid kom
Definition eine junge Ziege oder Geiß, Kitz, Zicklein Imperativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs komme

Where the eye mixes kid and kom

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 1 letter in sequence.

3 ch
kid
3 ch
kom

Look-alike desk: kid vs kom

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: kid is [kɪd] while kom is [ˈɡ̊ʰʌmˀ]. 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 39892, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

kid is recorded at frequency rank #13,410, classified as anoun, pronounced [kɪd]. kom is at rank #26,482, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈɡ̊ʰʌmˀ].

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 39892, this pair ranks #1,523,929 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of kid vs kom

Shared letters: k. Private to "kid": di. Private to "kom": mo.

"kid" · 3 letters · shape CVC  ·  "kom" · 3 letters · shape CVC

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "kid" and "kom" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "kid" is a noun and "kom" a verb, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
In ordinary German text, does "kid" or "kom" show up more?
"kid" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #13,410 in our German list, against #26,482 for "kom". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.

  • Full dictionary entry for "kid" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "kom" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,523,929 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "kid" and "kom" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "kola vs kom". Nearby pair

Confusion rank #1,523,929 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list