checkvsCrackConfusable pair

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

Which to use

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

#5,156
“check” frequency rank
#23,077
“Crack” frequency rank
28233
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature check Crack
Definition 2. Person Singular Imperativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs checken Experte, Fachmann auf einem bestimmten Gebiet

Where the eye mixes check and Crack

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.

5 ch
check
5 ch
Crack

Why the eye confuses check with Crack

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: check is [t͡ʃɛk] while Crack is [kʁɛk]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 28233, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

check is recorded at frequency rank #5,156, classified as averb, pronounced [t͡ʃɛk]. Crack is at rank #23,077, tagged as anoun, pronounced [kʁɛk].

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 28233, this pair ranks #1,788,328 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of check vs Crack

Shared letters: ck. Private to "check": eh. Private to "Crack": ar.

"check" · 5 letters · shape CCVCC  ·  "Crack" · 5 letters · shape CCVCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • checkccheck · cehck · chcek · checck · checkk · chekc · chheck · hceck
  • Crackcarck · ccrack · cracck · crackk · crakc · crcak · crrack · rcack

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "check" and "Crack" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "check" is a verb and "Crack" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
In ordinary German text, does "check" or "Crack" show up more?
"check" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #5,156 in our German list, against #23,077 for "Crack". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

Eye-level mix-up between "check" and "Crack" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.

  • Full dictionary entry for "check" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Crack" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,788,328 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "check" and "Crack" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "clock vs Crack". 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 #1,788,328 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list