kostevsKüstenWhat's the difference?

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

Which to use

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

#22,800
“koste” frequency rank
#14,856
“Küsten” frequency rank
37656
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

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

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set koste and Küsten apart are highlighted. They share 4 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

5 ch
koste
6 ch
Küsten

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

koste and Küsten form a confusable pair in the German index, two distinct headwords that are easily confused because they look alike, sound alike, or both. They differ by 1 letter(s) in length - close enough that the eye skips over the difference, far enough that meaning fully diverges. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 37656, 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]. Küsten is at rank #14,856, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈkʏstn̩].

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 37656, this pair ranks #1,584,451 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Frequency comparison

koste#22,800
Küsten#14,856

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "koste" and "Küsten" be used interchangeably?
No, "koste" and "Küsten" have distinct meanings and cannot be swapped without changing the meaning of a sentence. Understanding the specific definition and context for each word is essential for correct usage.

Remembering koste vs Küsten

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 “Küsten”.
  • 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 FrequencyWords open word-frequency list