könnevsKotzeWhat's the difference?

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

Which to use

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

#1,423
“könne” frequency rank
#24,411
“Kotze” frequency rank
25834
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature könne Kotze
Definition 1. Person Singular Konjunktiv I Präsens Aktiv des Verbs können das Erbrochene

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set könne and Kotze apart are highlighted. They share 2 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

5 ch
könne
5 ch
Kotze

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: könne is [ˈkœnə] while Kotze is [ˈkɔt͡sə]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 3 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 25834, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

könne is recorded at frequency rank #1,423, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈkœnə]. Kotze is at rank #24,411, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈkɔt͡sə].

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 25834, this pair ranks #1,827,286 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of könne vs Kotze

Shared letters: ek. Private to "könne": . Private to "Kotze": otz.

"könne" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV  ·  "Kotze" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Kotzekkotze · kotez · kottze · kotzze · kozte · ktoze · oktze

Frequency comparison

könne#1,423
Kotze#24,411

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "könne" and "Kotze" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "könne" is a verb and "Kotze" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "könne" or "Kotze"?
"könne" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #1,423 in our German list, against #24,411 for "Kotze". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

Remembering könne vs Kotze

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a verb, it's “könne”; for a noun, it's “Kotze”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “könne” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list