Which to use
“crazy” is a noun and “cry” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #13,120
- “crazy” frequency rank
- #21,937
- “cry” frequency rank
- 35057
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | crazy | cry |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | verrückt, wahnsinnig | weinen, heulen |
Where the eye mixes crazy and cry
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between crazy and cry
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: crazy is [ˈkɹɛɪzi] while cry is [kɹaɪ]. 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 35057, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
crazy is recorded at frequency rank #13,120, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈkɹɛɪzi]. cry is at rank #21,937, tagged as averb, pronounced [kɹaɪ].
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 35057, this pair ranks #1,649,079 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of crazy vs cry
Shared letters: cry. Private to "crazy": az. Private to "cry": -.
"crazy" · 5 letters · shape CCVCV · "cry" · 3 letters · shape CCV
Known mistypes of this pair
- crazy ← carzy · ccrazy · crayz · crazyy · crazzy · crrazy · crzay · rcazy
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "crazy" for "cry" ever safe?
Which is more common, "crazy" or "cry"?
Useful next steps
Eye-level mix-up between "crazy" and "cry" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "crazy" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "cry" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,649,079 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "crazy" and "cry" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "carr vs cry". 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 #1,649,079 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.