Which to use
“Kontur” and “Kostüm” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #44,745
- “Kontur” frequency rank
- #8,740
- “Kostüm” frequency rank
- 53485
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | Kontur | Kostüm |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | durch Kontrast oder meist Linien erzielter Umriss eines Körpers | Damenkleidung, die aus Rock und Jacke besteht |
Where the eye mixes Kontur and Kostüm
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence. Kontur and Kostüm follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (CVCCVC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.
Why the eye confuses Kontur with Kostüm
A purely visual mix-up. Kontur ([kɔnˈtuːɐ̯]) and Kostüm ([kɔsˈtyːm]) 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 53485, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
Kontur is recorded at frequency rank #44,745, classified as anoun, pronounced [kɔnˈtuːɐ̯]. Kostüm is at rank #8,740, tagged as anoun, pronounced [kɔsˈtyːm].
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 53485, this pair ranks #1,056,171 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of Kontur vs Kostüm
Shared letters: kot. Private to "Kontur": nru. Private to "Kostüm": msü.
"Kontur" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC · "Kostüm" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- Kontur ← kkontur · knotur · konntur · kontru · konttur · konturr · konutr · kotnur
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "Kontur" for "Kostüm" ever safe?
In ordinary German text, does "Kontur" or "Kostüm" show up more?
After this comparison
Eye-level mix-up between "Kontur" and "Kostüm" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "Kontur" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "Kostüm" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,056,171 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "Kontur" and "Kostüm" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "kontor vs Kontur". 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 #1,056,171 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.