Which to use
“kom” and “kost” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #26,482
- “kom” frequency rank
- #13,418
- “kost” frequency rank
- 39900
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | kom | kost |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Imperativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs komme | 2. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs kosen |
Where the eye mixes kom and kost
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses kom with kost
A purely visual mix-up. kom ([ˈɡ̊ʰʌmˀ]) and kost ([koːst]) 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 39900, 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]. kost is at rank #13,418, tagged as averb, pronounced [koːst].
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 39900, this pair ranks #1,523,702 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of kom vs kost
Shared letters: ko. Private to "kom": m. Private to "kost": st.
"kom" · 3 letters · shape CVC · "kost" · 4 letters · shape CVCC
Known mistypes of this pair
- kost ← kkost · kosst · kostt · kots · ksot · okst
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "kom" and "kost" mean the same thing in a sentence?
In ordinary German text, does "kom" or "kost" show up more?
Useful next steps
Eye-level mix-up between "kom" and "kost" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "kom" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "kost" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,523,702 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "kom" and "kost" 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 #1,523,702 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.