Which to use
“Kuss” and “Küste” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #5,861
- “Kuss” frequency rank
- #3,978
- “Küste” frequency rank
- 9839
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | Kuss | Küste |
|---|---|---|
| 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 | Grenzsaum zwischen Land und Meer |
Where the eye mixes Kuss and Küste
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses Kuss with Küste
A purely visual mix-up. Kuss ([kʊs]) 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 differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 9839, 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]. 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 9839, this pair ranks #1,978,045 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of Kuss vs Küste
Shared letters: ks. Private to "Kuss": u. Private to "Küste": etü.
"Kuss" · 4 letters · shape CVCC · "Küste" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV
Known mistypes of this pair
- Kuss ← kkuss · ksus · kus · kuß · ukss
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "Kuss" for "Küste" ever safe?
In ordinary German text, does "Kuss" or "Küste" show up more?
Useful next steps
Eye-level mix-up between "Kuss" and "Küste" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "Kuss" 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 #1,978,045 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "Kuss" 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 #1,978,045 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.