kostevsKüsseWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: koste is a verb, Küsse is a noun, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“koste” is a verb and “Küsse” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#22,800
“koste” frequency rank
#13,420
“Küsse” frequency rank
36220
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature koste Küsse
Definition 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präteritum Aktiv des Verbs kosen Nominativ Plural des Substantivs Kuss

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set koste and Küsse apart are highlighted. They share 3 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

5 ch
koste
5 ch
Küsse

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: koste is [ˈkoːstə] while Küsse is [ˈkʏsə]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 36220, 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]. Küsse is at rank #13,420, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈkʏsə].

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 36220, this pair ranks #1,621,076 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of koste vs Küsse

Shared letters: eks. Private to "koste": ot. Private to "Küsse": ü.

"koste" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV  ·  "Küsse" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • kostekkoste · koset · kosste · kotse · ksote · okste

Frequency comparison

koste#22,800
Küsse#13,420

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "koste" and "Küsse" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "koste" is a verb and "Küsse" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "koste" or "Küsse"?
"Küsse" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #13,420 in our German list, against #22,800 for "koste". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering koste vs Küsse

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a verb, it's “koste”; for a noun, it's “Küsse”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “koste” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list