KältevsKröteWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#5,974
“Kälte” frequency rank
#33,158
“Kröte” frequency rank
39132
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Kälte Kröte
Definition niedrige Temperatur dem Frosch ähnliche, kurzbeinige, springende Amphibie mit plumpem Körper und warzenbedeckter, Giftstoffe absondernder Haut

Where the eye mixes Kälte and Kröte

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

5 ch
Kälte
5 ch
Kröte

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. Kälte ([ˈkɛltə]) and Kröte ([ˈkʁøːtə]) 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 39132, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Kälte is recorded at frequency rank #5,974, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈkɛltə]. Kröte is at rank #33,158, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈkʁøːtə].

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 39132, this pair ranks #1,545,240 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of Kälte vs Kröte

Shared letters: ekt. Private to "Kälte": . Private to "Kröte": .

"Kälte" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV  ·  "Kröte" · 5 letters · shape CCVCV

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "Kälte" and "Kröte" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ˈkɛltə] versus [ˈkʁøːtə]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "Kälte" or "Kröte"?
"Kälte" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #5,974 in our German list, against #33,158 for "Kröte". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

You've compared "Kälte" and "Kröte". Here's where to go from here.

  • Full dictionary entry for "Kälte" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Kröte" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,545,240 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Kälte" and "Kröte" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "krönt vs Kröte". Nearby pair

PlainSpell is a reference corpus, not spelling advice. Verify unusual forms in context.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list