Which to use
“kostenlos” and “kostenlose” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #1,517
- “kostenlos” frequency rank
- #4,628
- “kostenlose” frequency rank
- 6145
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | kostenlos | kostenlose |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | nicht mit Kosten verbunden | Nominativ Singular Femininum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs kostenlos |
Where the eye mixes kostenlos and kostenlose
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 9 letters in sequence. kostenlos runs 9 letters (CVCCVCCVC) against kostenlose's 10 (CVCCVCCVCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses kostenlos with kostenlose
A purely visual mix-up. kostenlos ([ˈkɔstn̩loːs]) and kostenlose ([ˈkɔstn̩loːzə]) 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) - “kostenlos” sits inside “kostenlose”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 6145, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
kostenlos is recorded at frequency rank #1,517, classified as anadj, pronounced [ˈkɔstn̩loːs]. kostenlose is at rank #4,628, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ˈkɔstn̩loːzə].
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 6145, this pair ranks #1,992,564 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of kostenlos vs kostenlose
Shared letters: eklnost. Private to "kostenlos": -. Private to "kostenlose": -.
"kostenlos" · 9 letters · shape CVCCVCCVC · "kostenlose" · 10 letters · shape CVCCVCCVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
- kostenlos ← kkostenlos · kosetnlos · kosstenlos · kostelnos · kostenllos · kostenloss · kostenlso · kostennlos
- kostenlose ← kkostenlose · kosetnlose · kosstenlose · kostelnose · kostenllose · kostenloes · kostenlosse · kostenlsoe
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "kostenlos" and "kostenlose" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Which is more common, "kostenlos" or "kostenlose"?
After this comparison
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "kostenlos" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "kostenlose" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,992,564 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "kostenlos" and "kostenlose" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "kostenlose vs kostenloser". 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 #1,992,564 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.