Which to use
“knows” and “kos” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #42,625
- “knows” frequency rank
- #36,463
- “kos” frequency rank
- 79088
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | knows | kos |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | 3. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs know | 2. Person Singular Imperativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs kosen |
Where the eye mixes knows and kos
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between knows and kos
A purely visual mix-up. knows ([nəʊz]) 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 2 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 79088, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
knows is recorded at frequency rank #42,625, classified as averb, pronounced [nəʊz]. 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 79088, this pair ranks #224,049 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of knows vs kos
Shared letters: kos. Private to "knows": nw. Private to "kos": -.
"knows" · 5 letters · shape CCVCC · "kos" · 3 letters · shape CVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- knows ← kknows · knnows · knosw · knowss · knowws · knwos · konws · nkows
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "knows" and "kos" be used interchangeably?
Frequency check: "knows" vs "kos" - which ranks higher?
After this comparison
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "knows" 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 #224,049 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "knows" and "kos" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Knies vs knows". 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 #224,049 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.