Which to use
“küssen” and “küsste” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #6,445
- “küssen” frequency rank
- #24,811
- “küsste” frequency rank
- 31256
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | küssen | küsste |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | mit den Lippen eine andere Person oder einen Gegenstand berühren, zum Zeichen der Liebe oder Verehrung; einen Kuss geben | 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präteritum Aktiv des Verbs küssen |
Where the eye mixes küssen and küsste
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. küssen (CVCCVC) and küsste (CVCCCV) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.
Look-alike desk: küssen vs küsste
A purely visual mix-up. küssen ([ˈkʏsn̩]) and küsste ([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 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 31256, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
küssen is recorded at frequency rank #6,445, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈkʏsn̩]. 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 31256, this pair ranks #1,731,762 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of küssen vs küsste
Shared letters: eksü. Private to "küssen": n. Private to "küsste": t.
"küssen" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC · "küsste" · 6 letters · shape CVCCCV
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "küssen" and "küsste" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Which is more common, "küssen" or "küsste"?
Useful next steps
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "küssen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "küsste" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,731,762 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "küssen" and "küsste" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Kaste vs küsste". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #1,731,762 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.