kosten vs kürten, What's the Difference?

Which to use

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

#570
“kosten” frequency rank: #39,491
“kürten” frequency rank: 40061
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature	kosten	kürten
Definition	[jemandem] etwas (zum Beispiel in Form von Geld) wert sein, einen Wert oder bestimmten Preis haben	1. Person Plural Indikativ Präteritum Aktiv des Verbs küren

Where the spellings diverge

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

6 ch

kosten

6 ch

kürten

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. kosten ([ˈkɔstn̩]) and kürten ([ˈkyːɐ̯tn̩]) 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 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 40061, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

kosten is recorded at frequency rank #570, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈkɔstn̩]. kürten is at rank #39,491, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈkyːɐ̯tn̩].

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 40061, this pair ranks #1,519,137 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of kosten vs kürten

Shared letters: eknt. Private to "kosten": os. Private to "kürten": rü.

"kosten" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC · "kürten" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

kosten ← kkosten · kosetn · kossten · kostenn · kostne · kostten · kotsen · ksoten

Frequency comparison

kosten#570

kürten#39,491

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "kosten" and "kürten" be used interchangeably?

No. They are said differently ([ˈkɔstn̩] versus [ˈkyːɐ̯tn̩]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.

Which is more common, "kosten" or "kürten"?

"kosten" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #570 in our German list, against #39,491 for "kürten". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

Remembering kosten vs kürten

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

Read both glosses above and match the meaning you intend, only context separates this pair.
See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “kosten” entry
Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable