Which to use
“Kunde” and “Küste” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #2,981
- “Kunde” frequency rank
- #3,978
- “Küste” frequency rank
- 6959
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | Kunde | Küste |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | jemand, der bei einem bestimmten Geschäft einkauft; der Käufer einer Ware; derjenige, der eine Dienstleistung in Anspruch nimmt; jeder, der für etwas zahlt (auch wenn die Leistung an einen Dritten geht) | Grenzsaum zwischen Land und Meer |
Where the eye mixes Kunde and Küste
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses Kunde with Küste
A purely visual mix-up. Kunde ([ˈkʊndə]) and Küste ([ˈkʏstə]) 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 3 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 6959, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
Kunde is recorded at frequency rank #2,981, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈkʊndə]. Küste is at rank #3,978, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈkʏstə].
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 6959, this pair ranks #1,989,896 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of Kunde vs Küste
Shared letters: ek. Private to "Kunde": dnu. Private to "Küste": stü.
"Kunde" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV · "Küste" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV
Known mistypes of this pair
- Kunde ← kkunde · knude · kudne · kundde · kuned · kunnde · uknde
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "Kunde" for "Küste" ever safe?
In ordinary German text, does "Kunde" or "Küste" show up more?
After this comparison
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "Kunde" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "Küste" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,989,896 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "Kunde" and "Küste" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Küste vs Kutter". 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 #1,989,896 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.