Which to use
“kostenlos” and “kostenlosen” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #1,517
- “kostenlos” frequency rank
- #8,739
- “kostenlosen” frequency rank
- 10256
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | kostenlos | kostenlosen |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | nicht mit Kosten verbunden | Genitiv Singular Maskulinum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs kostenlos |
Where the eye mixes kostenlos and kostenlosen
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 9 letters in sequence. kostenlos runs 9 letters (CVCCVCCVC) against kostenlosen's 11 (CVCCVCCVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Visual trap between kostenlos and kostenlosen
A purely visual mix-up. kostenlos ([ˈkɔstn̩loːs]) and kostenlosen ([ˈkɔstn̩loːzn̩]) 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 2 extra letter(s) - “kostenlos” sits inside “kostenlosen”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 10256, 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]. kostenlosen is at rank #8,739, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ˈkɔstn̩loːzn̩].
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 10256, this pair ranks #1,976,022 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of kostenlos vs kostenlosen
Shared letters: eklnost. Private to "kostenlos": -. Private to "kostenlosen": -.
"kostenlos" · 9 letters · shape CVCCVCCVC · "kostenlosen" · 11 letters · shape CVCCVCCVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- kostenlos ← kkostenlos · kosetnlos · kosstenlos · kostelnos · kostenllos · kostenloss · kostenlso · kostennlos
- kostenlosen ← kkostenlosen · kosetnlosen · kosstenlosen · kostelnosen · kostenllosen · kostenloesn · kostenlosenn · kostenlosne
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "kostenlos" for "kostenlosen" ever safe?
Which is more common, "kostenlos" or "kostenlosen"?
Useful next steps
Eye-level mix-up between "kostenlos" and "kostenlosen" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "kostenlos" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "kostenlosen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,976,022 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "kostenlos" and "kostenlosen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "kostenlosen 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 #1,976,022 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.