KäfigvskräftigWhich spelling fits?

Quick tell: Käfig is a noun, kräftig is an adjective, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“Käfig” is a noun and “kräftig” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#14,344
“Käfig” frequency rank
#4,807
“kräftig” frequency rank
19151
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Käfig kräftig
Definition Behälter oder Einrichtung, um Lebewesen gefangen zu halten, häufig mit einem Gitter versehen mit Kraft ausgestattet, von Kraft geprägt, zeugend

Where the eye mixes Käfig and kräftig

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. Käfig runs 5 letters (CVCVC) against kräftig's 7 (CCVCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

5 ch
Käfig
7 ch
kräftig

Look-alike desk: Käfig vs kräftig

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: Käfig is [ˈkɛːfɪç] while kräftig is [ˈkʁɛftɪç]. 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 adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 19151, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Käfig is recorded at frequency rank #14,344, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈkɛːfɪç]. kräftig is at rank #4,807, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ˈkʁɛftɪç].

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 19151, this pair ranks #1,911,333 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of Käfig vs kräftig

Shared letters: fgikä. Private to "Käfig": -. Private to "kräftig": rt.

"Käfig" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC  ·  "kräftig" · 7 letters · shape CCVCCVC

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "Käfig" for "kräftig" ever safe?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "Käfig" is a noun and "kräftig" an adjective, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Frequency check: "Käfig" vs "kräftig" - which ranks higher?
"kräftig" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #4,807 in our German list, against #14,344 for "Käfig". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.

  • Full dictionary entry for "Käfig" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "kräftig" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,911,333 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Käfig" and "kräftig" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Käfig vs kantig". Nearby pair

Confusion rank #1,911,333 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