Which to use
“koste” is a verb and “Kostüm” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #22,800
- “koste” frequency rank
- #8,740
- “Kostüm” frequency rank
- 31540
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | koste | Kostüm |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präteritum Aktiv des Verbs kosen | Damenkleidung, die aus Rock und Jacke besteht |
Where the eye mixes koste and Kostüm
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between koste and Kostüm
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: koste is [ˈkoːstə] while Kostüm is [kɔsˈtyːm]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 31540, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
koste is recorded at frequency rank #22,800, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈkoːstə]. 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 31540, this pair ranks #1,726,028 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of koste vs Kostüm
Shared letters: kost. Private to "koste": e. Private to "Kostüm": mü.
"koste" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV · "Kostüm" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- koste ← kkoste · koset · kosste · kotse · ksote · okste
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "koste" and "Kostüm" be used interchangeably?
In ordinary German text, does "koste" or "Kostüm" show up more?
What to do next
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "koste" 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 #1,726,028 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "koste" and "Kostüm" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Kölle vs koste". 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 #1,726,028 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.