KämpfevsKrampfWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#4,135
“Kämpfe” frequency rank
#21,324
“Krampf” frequency rank
25459
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Kämpfe Krampf
Definition Nominativ Plural des Substantivs Kampf ungewollte starke Muskelanspannung, die mit sehr großen Schmerzen verbunden sein kann

Where the eye mixes Kämpfe and Krampf

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.

6 ch
Kämpfe
6 ch
Krampf

Why the eye confuses Kämpfe with Krampf

A purely visual mix-up. Kämpfe ([ˈkɛmp͡fə]) and Krampf ([kʁamp͡f]) 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 5 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 25459, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Kämpfe is recorded at frequency rank #4,135, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈkɛmp͡fə]. Krampf is at rank #21,324, tagged as anoun, pronounced [kʁamp͡f].

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 25459, this pair ranks #1,832,953 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of Kämpfe vs Krampf

Shared letters: fkmp. Private to "Kämpfe": . Private to "Krampf": ar.

"Kämpfe" · 6 letters · shape CVCCCV  ·  "Krampf" · 6 letters · shape CCVCCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Krampfkarmpf · kkrampf · kramfp · krammpf · krampff · kramppf · krapmf · krmapf

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "Kämpfe" and "Krampf" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([ˈkɛmp͡fə] versus [kʁamp͡f]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
In ordinary German text, does "Kämpfe" or "Krampf" show up more?
"Kämpfe" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #4,135 in our German list, against #21,324 for "Krampf". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

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

  • Full dictionary entry for "Kämpfe" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Krampf" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,832,953 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Kämpfe" and "Krampf" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Krampf vs Krämpfe". 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 #1,832,953 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