Kilos vs kos, What's the Difference?

Which to use

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

#43,284
“Kilos” frequency rank: #36,463
“kos” frequency rank: 79747
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature	Kilos	kos
Definition	Genitiv Singular des Substantivs Kilo	2. Person Singular Imperativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs kosen

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set Kilos and kos apart are highlighted. They share 3 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

5 ch

Kilos

3 ch

kos

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: Kilos is [ˈkiːlos] while kos is [koːs]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 2 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 79747, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Kilos is recorded at frequency rank #43,284, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈkiːlos]. kos is at rank #36,463, tagged as averb, pronounced [koːs].

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 79747, this pair ranks #209,936 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of Kilos vs kos

Shared letters: kos. Private to "Kilos": il. Private to "kos": -.

"Kilos" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC · "kos" · 3 letters · shape CVC

Known mistypes of this pair

Kilos ← iklos · killos · kiloss · kilso · kiols · kkilos · klios

Frequency comparison

Kilos#43,284

kos#36,463

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "Kilos" and "kos" be used interchangeably?

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

Which is more common, "Kilos" or "kos"?

"kos" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #36,463 in our German list, against #43,284 for "Kilos". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering Kilos vs kos

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

Check the role first: if you need a noun, it's “Kilos”; for a verb, it's “kos”.
See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “Kilos” entry
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