Which to use
“Kater” and “Katze” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #7,347
- “Kater” frequency rank
- #2,659
- “Katze” frequency rank
- 10006
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | Kater | Katze |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | männliche Katze | in zahlreichen Rassen gezüchtetes, dem Menschen verbundenes, anschmiegsames Haustier (Felis silvestris catus) |
Where the eye mixes Kater and Katze
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between Kater and Katze
A purely visual mix-up. Kater ([ˈkaːtɐ]) and Katze ([ˈkat͡sə]) 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 10006, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
Kater is recorded at frequency rank #7,347, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈkaːtɐ]. Katze is at rank #2,659, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈkat͡sə].
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 10006, this pair ranks #1,977,233 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of Kater vs Katze
Shared letters: aekt. Private to "Kater": r. Private to "Katze": z.
"Kater" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC · "Katze" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "Kater" for "Katze" ever safe?
Which is more common, "Kater" or "Katze"?
After this comparison
Eye-level mix-up between "Kater" and "Katze" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "Kater" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "Katze" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,977,233 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "Kater" and "Katze" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Kater vs Kutter". 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 #1,977,233 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.