Which to use
“Kuss” is a noun and “küssen” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #5,861
- “Kuss” frequency rank
- #6,445
- “küssen” frequency rank
- 12306
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | Kuss | küssen |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | die Berührung der Lippen auf die Lippen oder beliebige andere Körperteile (einschließlich der Zunge und der Geschlechtsorgane) eines anderen Menschen oder einen, durch diese Geste geliebten oder verehrten Gegenstand | mit den Lippen eine andere Person oder einen Gegenstand berühren, zum Zeichen der Liebe oder Verehrung; einen Kuss geben |
Where the spellings diverge
Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set Kuss and küssen apart are highlighted. They share 3 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: Kuss is [kʊs] while küssen is [ˈkʏsn̩]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 2 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 12306, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
Kuss is recorded at frequency rank #5,861, classified as anoun, pronounced [kʊs]. küssen is at rank #6,445, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈkʏsn̩].
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 12306, this pair ranks #1,964,956 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of Kuss vs küssen
Shared letters: ks. Private to "Kuss": u. Private to "küssen": enü.
"Kuss" · 4 letters · shape CVCC · "küssen" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- Kuss ← kkuss · ksus · kus · kuß · ukss
Frequency comparison
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "Kuss" and "küssen" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "Kuss" or "küssen"?
Remembering Kuss vs küssen
The fastest way to pick the right one every time.
- Check the role first: if you need a noun, it's “Kuss”; for a verb, it's “küssen”.
- See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “Kuss” entry
- Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable