könntvskotztWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#1,233
“könnt” frequency rank
#14,612
“kotzt” frequency rank
15845
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature könnt kotzt
Definition 2. Person Plural Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs können 2. Person Plural Imperativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs kotzen

Where the eye mixes könnt and kotzt

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence. könnt and kotzt follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (CVCCC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.

5 ch
könnt
5 ch
kotzt

Why the eye confuses könnt with kotzt

A purely visual mix-up. könnt ([kœnt]) and kotzt ([kɔt͡st]) 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 3 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 15845, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

könnt is recorded at frequency rank #1,233, classified as averb, pronounced [kœnt]. kotzt is at rank #14,612, tagged as averb, pronounced [kɔt͡st].

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 15845, this pair ranks #1,940,687 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of könnt vs kotzt

Shared letters: kt. Private to "könnt": . Private to "kotzt": oz.

"könnt" · 5 letters · shape CVCCC  ·  "kotzt" · 5 letters · shape CVCCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • kotztkkotzt · kottz · kottzt · kotztt · kotzzt · koztt · ktozt · oktzt

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "könnt" for "kotzt" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([kœnt] versus [kɔt͡st]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
In ordinary German text, does "könnt" or "kotzt" show up more?
"könnt" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #1,233 in our German list, against #14,612 for "kotzt". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

What to do next

Eye-level mix-up between "könnt" and "kotzt" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.

  • Full dictionary entry for "könnt" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "kotzt" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,940,687 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "könnt" and "kotzt" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "kotzt vs kürzt". 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 #1,940,687 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