KostümvsKostümenWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

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

#8,740
“Kostüm” frequency rank
#32,134
“Kostümen” frequency rank
40874
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Kostüm Kostümen
Definition Damenkleidung, die aus Rock und Jacke besteht Dativ Plural des Substantivs Kostüm

Where the eye mixes Kostüm and Kostümen

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence.

6 ch
Kostüm
8 ch
Kostümen

Look-alike desk: Kostüm vs Kostümen

A purely visual mix-up. Kostüm ([kɔsˈtyːm]) and Kostümen ([kɔsˈtyːmən]) 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) - “Kostüm” sits inside “Kostümen”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 40874, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Kostüm is recorded at frequency rank #8,740, classified as anoun, pronounced [kɔsˈtyːm]. Kostümen is at rank #32,134, tagged as anoun, pronounced [kɔsˈtyːmən].

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 40874, this pair ranks #1,495,859 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of Kostüm vs Kostümen

Shared letters: kmostü. Private to "Kostüm": -. Private to "Kostümen": en.

"Kostüm" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC  ·  "Kostümen" · 8 letters · shape CVCCVCVC

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "Kostüm" and "Kostümen" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([kɔsˈtyːm] versus [kɔsˈtyːmən]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "Kostüm" or "Kostümen"?
"Kostüm" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #8,740 in our German list, against #32,134 for "Kostümen". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Useful next steps

Eye-level mix-up between "Kostüm" and "Kostümen" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.

  • Full dictionary entry for "Kostüm" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Kostümen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,495,859 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Kostüm" and "Kostümen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "kosteten vs Kostümen". Nearby pair

Confusion rank #1,495,859 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