KastevsKrusteWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

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

#45,378
“Kaste” frequency rank
#28,280
“Kruste” frequency rank
73658
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Kaste Kruste
Definition geschlossene Gesellschaftsschicht innerhalb einer (insbesondere der hinduistischen) Gesellschaftsordnung feste, harte Schicht auf einem weichen Körper

Where the eye mixes Kaste and Kruste

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

5 ch
Kaste
6 ch
Kruste

Look-alike desk: Kaste vs Kruste

A purely visual mix-up. Kaste ([ˈkastə]) and Kruste ([ˈkʁʊstə]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 73658, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Kaste is recorded at frequency rank #45,378, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈkastə]. Kruste is at rank #28,280, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈkʁʊstə].

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 73658, this pair ranks #354,353 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of Kaste vs Kruste

Shared letters: ekst. Private to "Kaste": a. Private to "Kruste": ru.

"Kaste" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV  ·  "Kruste" · 6 letters · shape CCVCCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Kasteakste · kaset · kasste · kastte · katse · kkaste · ksate
  • Krustekkruste · krruste · krsute · kruset · krusste · krustte · krutse · kurste

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "Kaste" for "Kruste" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([ˈkastə] versus [ˈkʁʊstə]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
In ordinary German text, does "Kaste" or "Kruste" show up more?
"Kruste" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #28,280 in our German list, against #45,378 for "Kaste". 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 "Kaste" and "Kruste" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.

  • Full dictionary entry for "Kaste" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Kruste" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #354,353 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Kaste" and "Kruste" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "karge vs Kaste". 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 #354,353 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