KonturenvsKostümenConfusable pair

Which to use

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

#23,202
“Konturen” frequency rank
#32,134
“Kostümen” frequency rank
55336
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Konturen Kostümen
Definition Nominativ Plural des Substantivs Kontur Dativ Plural des Substantivs Kostüm

Where the eye mixes Konturen and Kostümen

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. Konturen and Kostümen follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (CVCCVCVC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.

8 ch
Konturen
8 ch
Kostümen

Why the eye confuses Konturen with Kostümen

A purely visual mix-up. Konturen ([kɔnˈtuːʁən]) and Kostümen ([kɔsˈtyːmən]) 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 55336, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Konturen is recorded at frequency rank #23,202, classified as anoun, pronounced [kɔnˈtuːʁən]. Kostümen is at rank #32,134, tagged as anoun, pronounced [kɔsˈtyːmən].

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 55336, this pair ranks #983,541 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of Konturen vs Kostümen

Shared letters: eknot. Private to "Konturen": ru. Private to "Kostümen": msü.

"Konturen" · 8 letters · shape CVCCVCVC  ·  "Kostümen" · 8 letters · shape CVCCVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Konturenkkonturen · knoturen · konnturen · kontruen · kontturen · kontuern · konturenn · konturne

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "Konturen" and "Kostümen" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([kɔnˈtuːʁən] versus [kɔsˈtyːmən]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "Konturen" vs "Kostümen" - which ranks higher?
"Konturen" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #23,202 in our German list, against #32,134 for "Kostümen". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Useful next steps

Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.

  • Full dictionary entry for "Konturen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Kostümen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #983,541 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Konturen" and "Kostümen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "kosteten vs Kostümen". 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 #983,541 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