Which to use
“Kisten” is a noun and “kosten” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #11,271
- “Kisten” frequency rank
- #570
- “kosten” frequency rank
- 11841
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | Kisten | kosten |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Nominativ Plural des Substantivs Kiste | [jemandem] etwas (zum Beispiel in Form von Geld) wert sein, einen Wert oder bestimmten Preis haben |
Where the eye mixes Kisten and kosten
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. Kisten and kosten follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (CVCCVC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.
Visual trap between Kisten and kosten
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: Kisten is [ˈkɪstn̩] while kosten is [ˈkɔstn̩]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by a single letter - i in “Kisten” becomes o in “kosten”, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 11841, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
Kisten is recorded at frequency rank #11,271, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈkɪstn̩]. kosten is at rank #570, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈkɔstn̩].
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 11841, this pair ranks #1,967,611 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of Kisten vs kosten
Shared letters: eknst. Private to "Kisten": i. Private to "kosten": o.
"Kisten" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC · "kosten" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "Kisten" and "kosten" be used interchangeably?
In ordinary German text, does "Kisten" or "kosten" show up more?
Useful next steps
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "Kisten" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "kosten" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,967,611 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "Kisten" and "kosten" 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 #1,967,611 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.