Which to use
“kilos” and “kudos” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #20,980
- “kilos” frequency rank
- #16,060
- “kudos” frequency rank
- 37040
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | kilos | kudos |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | plural of kilo | Praise; accolades. |
Where the eye mixes kilos and kudos
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses kilos with kudos
A purely visual mix-up. kilos (/ˈkiːləʊz/) and kudos (/ˈk(j)uːdɒs/) 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 37040, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
kilos is recorded at frequency rank #20,980, classified as anoun, pronounced /ˈkiːləʊz/. kudos is at rank #16,060, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ˈk(j)uːdɒs/.
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 37040, this pair ranks #297,960 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of kilos vs kudos
Shared letters: kos. Private to "kilos": il. Private to "kudos": du.
"kilos" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC · "kudos" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "kilos" for "kudos" ever safe?
Frequency check: "kilos" vs "kudos" - which ranks higher?
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 "kilos" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "kudos" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #297,960 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "kilos" and "kudos" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Kiko vs kilos". 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 #297,960 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.