kommenvskostenWhat's the difference?

Which to use

“kommen” and “kosten” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#181
“kommen” frequency rank
#570
“kosten” frequency rank
751
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature kommen kosten
Definition einen Ort erreichen, sich von einem Ort hierher begeben [jemandem] etwas (zum Beispiel in Form von Geld) wert sein, einen Wert oder bestimmten Preis haben

Where the eye mixes kommen and kosten

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.

6 ch
kommen
6 ch
kosten

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. kommen ([ˈkɔmən]) and kosten ([ˈkɔstn̩]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 751, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

kommen is recorded at frequency rank #181, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈkɔmən]. 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 751, this pair ranks #2,005,399 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of kommen vs kosten

Shared letters: ekno. Private to "kommen": m. Private to "kosten": st.

"kommen" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC  ·  "kosten" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • kommenkkommen · kmomen · komemn · komen · kommenn · kommne · okmmen
  • kostenkkosten · kosetn · kossten · kostenn · kostne · kostten · kotsen · ksoten

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "kommen" and "kosten" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ˈkɔmən] versus [ˈkɔstn̩]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "kommen" or "kosten"?
"kommen" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #181 in our German list, against #570 for "kosten". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

You've compared "kommen" and "kosten". Here's where to go from here.

  • Full dictionary entry for "kommen" 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 #2,005,399 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "kommen" and "kosten" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "kitten vs kosten". 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

PlainSpell is a reference corpus, not spelling advice. Verify unusual forms in context.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list