KussvsküssteWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: Kuss is a noun, küsste is a verb, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“Kuss” is a noun and “küsste” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#5,861
“Kuss” frequency rank
#24,811
“küsste” frequency rank
30672
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Kuss küsste
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 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präteritum Aktiv des Verbs küssen

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set Kuss and küsste apart are highlighted. They share 3 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

4 ch
Kuss
6 ch
küsste

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: Kuss is [kʊs] while küsste is [ˈkʏstə]. 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 30672, 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]. küsste is at rank #24,811, tagged as averb, 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 30672, this pair ranks #1,743,300 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of Kuss vs küsste

Shared letters: ks. Private to "Kuss": u. Private to "küsste": etü.

"Kuss" · 4 letters · shape CVCC  ·  "küsste" · 6 letters · shape CVCCCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Kusskkuss · ksus · kus · kuß · ukss

Frequency comparison

Kuss#5,861
küsste#24,811

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "Kuss" and "küsste" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "Kuss" is a noun and "küsste" a verb, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "Kuss" or "küsste"?
"Kuss" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #5,861 in our German list, against #24,811 for "küsste". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering Kuss vs küsste

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 “küsste”.
  • 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

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list