Which to use
“know” and “kos” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #5,096
- “know” frequency rank
- #36,463
- “kos” frequency rank
- 41559
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | know | kos |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | wissen | 2. Person Singular Imperativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs kosen |
Where the eye mixes know and kos
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses know with kos
A purely visual mix-up. know ([nəʊ]) and kos ([koːs]) 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 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 41559, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
know is recorded at frequency rank #5,096, classified as averb, pronounced [nəʊ]. 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 41559, this pair ranks #1,475,836 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of know vs kos
Shared letters: ko. Private to "know": nw. Private to "kos": s.
"know" · 4 letters · shape CCVC · "kos" · 3 letters · shape CVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- know ← kknow · knnow · knoww · knwo · konw · nkow
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "know" and "kos" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Which is more common, "know" or "kos"?
What to do next
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "know" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "kos" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,475,836 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "know" and "kos" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "kola vs kos". 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 #1,475,836 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.