kostenlosevskostenlosenWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#4,628
“kostenlose” frequency rank
#8,739
“kostenlosen” frequency rank
13367
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature kostenlose kostenlosen
Definition Nominativ Singular Femininum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs kostenlos Genitiv Singular Maskulinum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs kostenlos

Where the eye mixes kostenlose and kostenlosen

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 10 letters in sequence. kostenlose runs 10 letters (CVCCVCCVCV) against kostenlosen's 11 (CVCCVCCVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

10 ch
kostenlose
11 ch
kostenlosen

Why the eye confuses kostenlose with kostenlosen

A purely visual mix-up. kostenlose ([ˈkɔstn̩loːzə]) 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 1 extra letter(s) - “kostenlose” sits inside “kostenlosen”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 13367, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

kostenlose is recorded at frequency rank #4,628, classified as anadj, pronounced [ˈkɔstn̩loːzə]. 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 13367, this pair ranks #1,958,448 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of kostenlose vs kostenlosen

Shared letters: eklnost. Private to "kostenlose": -. Private to "kostenlosen": -.

"kostenlose" · 10 letters · shape CVCCVCCVCV  ·  "kostenlosen" · 11 letters · shape CVCCVCCVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • kostenlose ← kkostenlose · kosetnlose · kosstenlose · kostelnose · kostenllose · kostenloes · kostenlosse · kostenlsoe
  • kostenlosen ← kkostenlosen · kosetnlosen · kosstenlosen · kostelnosen · kostenllosen · kostenloesn · kostenlosenn · kostenlosne

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "kostenlose" and "kostenlosen" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ˈkɔstn̩loːzə] versus [ˈkɔstn̩loːzn̩]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "kostenlose" or "kostenlosen"?
"kostenlose" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #4,628 in our German list, against #8,739 for "kostenlosen". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.

  • Full dictionary entry for "kostenlose" 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 #1,958,448 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "kostenlose" 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 #1,958,448 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list