komvsKombiTell them apart

Quick tell: kom is a verb, Kombi is a noun, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

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

#26,482
“kom” frequency rank
#8,897
“Kombi” frequency rank
35379
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature kom Kombi
Definition Imperativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs komme Kombinationswagen oder Kombinationskraftwagen, ein Auto, das eine Kombination von einer Limousine und einem Lieferwagen darstellt und in der Regel 4 Seitentüren und eine Hecktür zum Beladen des Fahrzeuges hat

Where the eye mixes kom and Kombi

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence. kom runs 3 letters (CVC) against Kombi's 5 (CVCCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

3 ch
kom
5 ch
Kombi

Why the eye confuses kom with Kombi

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: kom is [ˈɡ̊ʰʌmˀ] while Kombi is [ˈkɔmbi]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 2 extra letter(s) - “kom” sits inside “Kombi”, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 35379, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

kom is recorded at frequency rank #26,482, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈɡ̊ʰʌmˀ]. Kombi is at rank #8,897, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈkɔmbi].

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 35379, this pair ranks #1,641,406 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of kom vs Kombi

Shared letters: kmo. Private to "kom": -. Private to "Kombi": bi.

"kom" · 3 letters · shape CVC  ·  "Kombi" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Kombi ← kkombi · kmobi · kobmi · kombbi · komib · kommbi · okmbi

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "kom" and "Kombi" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "kom" is a verb and "Kombi" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "kom" or "Kombi"?
"Kombi" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #8,897 in our German list, against #26,482 for "kom". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.

  • Full dictionary entry for "kom" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Kombi" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,641,406 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "kom" and "Kombi" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "kola vs kom". 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 #1,641,406 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list