gekrochenvsgestochenTell them apart

Which to use

“gekrochen” and “gestochen” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#32,552
“gekrochen” frequency rank
#15,108
“gestochen” frequency rank
47660
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature gekrochen gestochen
Definition Partizip Perfekt des Verbs kriechen Partizip Perfekt des Verbs stechen

Where the eye mixes gekrochen and gestochen

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence.

9 ch
gekrochen
9 ch
gestochen

Look-alike desk: gekrochen vs gestochen

A purely visual mix-up. gekrochen ([ɡəˈkʁɔxn̩]) and gestochen ([ɡəˈʃtɔxn̩]) 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 47660, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

gekrochen is recorded at frequency rank #32,552, classified as averb, pronounced [ɡəˈkʁɔxn̩]. gestochen is at rank #15,108, tagged as averb, pronounced [ɡəˈʃtɔxn̩].

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 47660, this pair ranks #1,276,519 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of gekrochen vs gestochen

Shared letters: ceghno. Private to "gekrochen": kr. Private to "gestochen": st.

"gekrochen" · 9 letters · shape CVCCVCCVC  ·  "gestochen" · 9 letters · shape CVCCVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • gekrochenegkrochen · gekkrochen · gekorchen · gekrcohen · gekrocchen · gekrocehn · gekrochenn · gekrochhen
  • gestochenegstochen · gesotchen · gesstochen · gestcohen · gestocchen · gestocehn · gestochenn · gestochhen

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "gekrochen" for "gestochen" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([ɡəˈkʁɔxn̩] versus [ɡəˈʃtɔxn̩]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
In ordinary German text, does "gekrochen" or "gestochen" show up more?
"gestochen" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #15,108 in our German list, against #32,552 for "gekrochen". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.

  • Full dictionary entry for "gekrochen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "gestochen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,276,519 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "gekrochen" and "gestochen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "gekrochen vs gerochen". 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 #1,276,519 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