KosmetikvskosmetikaWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

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

#15,676
“Kosmetik” frequency rank
#43,299
“kosmetika” frequency rank
58975
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Kosmetik kosmetika
Definition Gesamtheit der Maßnahmen zur Erhaltung oder Vergrößerung der Schönheit Maßnahmen zur Erhaltung und Verbesserung der Schönheit

Where the eye mixes Kosmetik and kosmetika

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 8 letters in sequence. Kosmetik runs 8 letters (CVCCVCVC) against kosmetika's 9 (CVCCVCVCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

8 ch
Kosmetik
9 ch
kosmetika

Visual trap between Kosmetik and kosmetika

A purely visual mix-up. Kosmetik ([kɔsˈmeːtɪk]) and kosmetika ([ˈkɔsmɛtɪka]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they differ by 1 extra letter(s) - “Kosmetik” sits inside “kosmetika”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 58975, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Kosmetik is recorded at frequency rank #15,676, classified as anoun, pronounced [kɔsˈmeːtɪk]. kosmetika is at rank #43,299, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈkɔsmɛtɪka].

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 58975, this pair ranks #842,058 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of Kosmetik vs kosmetika

Shared letters: eikmost. Private to "Kosmetik": -. Private to "kosmetika": a.

"Kosmetik" · 8 letters · shape CVCCVCVC  ·  "kosmetika" · 9 letters · shape CVCCVCVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Kosmetikkkosmetik · komsetik · kosemtik · kosmeitk · kosmetikk · kosmetki · kosmettik · kosmmetik
  • kosmetikakkosmetika · komsetika · kosemtika · kosmeitka · kosmetiak · kosmetikka · kosmetkia · kosmettika

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "Kosmetik" for "kosmetika" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([kɔsˈmeːtɪk] versus [ˈkɔsmɛtɪka]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "Kosmetik" vs "kosmetika" - which ranks higher?
"Kosmetik" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #15,676 in our German list, against #43,299 for "kosmetika". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

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

  • Full dictionary entry for "Kosmetik" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "kosmetika" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #842,058 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • 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 #842,058 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