Which to use
“cross” is an adverb and “crown” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #9,698
- “cross” frequency rank
- #29,993
- “crown” frequency rank
- 39691
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | cross | crown |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | diagonal in das gegnerische Feld | Krone, Kopfbedeckung für Könige und Königinnen |
Where the eye mixes cross and crown
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between cross and crown
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: cross is [kʁɔs] while crown is [kɹaʊn]. 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 (adverb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 39691, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
cross is recorded at frequency rank #9,698, classified as anadv, pronounced [kʁɔs]. crown is at rank #29,993, tagged as anoun, pronounced [kɹaʊn].
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 39691, this pair ranks #1,529,642 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of cross vs crown
Shared letters: cor. Private to "cross": s. Private to "crown": nw.
"cross" · 5 letters · shape CCVCC · "crown" · 5 letters · shape CCVCC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "cross" and "crown" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Which is more common, "cross" or "crown"?
Useful next steps
Eye-level mix-up between "cross" and "crown" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "cross" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "crown" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,529,642 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "cross" and "crown" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "crews vs crown". 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 #1,529,642 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.