KäthevsKrätzeConfusable pair

Quick tell: Käthe is a name, Krätze is a noun, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“Käthe” is a name and “Krätze” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#25,211
“Käthe” frequency rank
#44,028
“Krätze” frequency rank
69239
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Käthe Krätze
Definition weiblicher Vorname stark juckende Hautkrankheit, die durch sich in die Haut einbohrende Milben verursacht ist

Where the eye mixes Käthe and Krätze

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. Käthe runs 5 letters (CVCCV) against Krätze's 6 (CCVCCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

5 ch
Käthe
6 ch
Krätze

Why the eye confuses Käthe with Krätze

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: Käthe is [ˈkɛːtə] while Krätze is [ˈkʁɛt͡sə]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (name vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 69239, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Käthe is recorded at frequency rank #25,211, classified as aname, pronounced [ˈkɛːtə]. 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 69239, this pair ranks #482,684 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of Käthe vs Krätze

Shared letters: ektä. Private to "Käthe": h. Private to "Krätze": rz.

"Käthe" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV  ·  "Krätze" · 6 letters · shape CCVCCV

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "Käthe" and "Krätze" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "Käthe" is a name and "Krätze" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Frequency check: "Käthe" vs "Krätze" - which ranks higher?
"Käthe" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #25,211 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 "Käthe" and "Krätze" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.

  • Full dictionary entry for "Käthe" 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 #482,684 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Käthe" and "Krätze" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Krätze vs Kroate". Nearby pair

Confusion rank #482,684 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