Which to use
“Kissen” and “Kisten” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #7,781
- “Kissen” frequency rank
- #11,271
- “Kisten” frequency rank
- 19052
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | Kissen | Kisten |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | mit weichem Füllmaterial befüllter Beutel zur Unterpolsterung und Stützung von Körperteilen; Accessoire in der Gestaltung der Wohnräume | Nominativ Plural des Substantivs Kiste |
Where the eye mixes Kissen and Kisten
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. Kissen and Kisten follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (CVCCVC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.
Why the eye confuses Kissen with Kisten
A purely visual mix-up. Kissen ([ˈkɪsn̩]) and Kisten ([ˈkɪstn̩]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they differ by a single letter - s in “Kissen” becomes t in “Kisten”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 19052, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
Kissen is recorded at frequency rank #7,781, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈkɪsn̩]. Kisten is at rank #11,271, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈkɪstn̩].
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 19052, this pair ranks #1,912,305 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of Kissen vs Kisten
Shared letters: eikns. Private to "Kissen": -. Private to "Kisten": t.
"Kissen" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC · "Kisten" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "Kissen" for "Kisten" ever safe?
Which is more common, "Kissen" or "Kisten"?
What to do next
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "Kissen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "Kisten" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,912,305 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "Kissen" and "Kisten" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Kisten vs kitten". 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 #1,912,305 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.