KaratevsKrätzeConfusable pair

Which to use

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

#14,336
“Karate” frequency rank
#44,028
“Krätze” frequency rank
58364
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Karate Krätze
Definition waffenlose Kampf- oder Verteidigungskunst stark juckende Hautkrankheit, die durch sich in die Haut einbohrende Milben verursacht ist

Where the eye mixes Karate and Krätze

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. Karate (CVCVCV) and Krätze (CCVCCV) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.

6 ch
Karate
6 ch
Krätze

Why the eye confuses Karate with Krätze

A purely visual mix-up. Karate ([kaˈʁaːtə]) and Krätze ([ˈkʁɛt͡sə]) 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 4 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 58364, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Karate is recorded at frequency rank #14,336, classified as anoun, pronounced [kaˈʁaːtə]. Krätze is at rank #44,028, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈkʁɛt͡sə].

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 58364, this pair ranks #865,638 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of Karate vs Krätze

Shared letters: ekrt. Private to "Karate": a. Private to "Krätze": zä.

"Karate" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCV  ·  "Krätze" · 6 letters · shape CCVCCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Karate ← akrate · kaarte · karaet · karatte · karrate · kartae · kkarate · kraate

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "Karate" and "Krätze" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([kaˈʁaːtə] versus [ˈkʁɛt͡sə]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "Karate" or "Krätze"?
"Karate" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #14,336 in our German list, against #44,028 for "Krätze". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

Eye-level mix-up between "Karate" and "Krätze" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.

  • Full dictionary entry for "Karate" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Krätze" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #865,638 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Karate" and "Krätze" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Krätze vs Kroate". 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 #865,638 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