KatzevsKatzenConfusable pair

Which to use

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

#2,659
“Katze” frequency rank
#3,325
“Katzen” frequency rank
5984
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Katze Katzen
Definition in zahlreichen Rassen gezüchtetes, dem Menschen verbundenes, anschmiegsames Haustier (Felis silvestris catus) Nominativ Plural des Substantivs Katze

Where the eye mixes Katze and Katzen

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence.

5 ch
Katze
6 ch
Katzen

Visual trap between Katze and Katzen

A purely visual mix-up. Katze ([ˈkat͡sə]) and Katzen ([ˈkat͡sn̩]) 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 extra letter(s) - “Katze” sits inside “Katzen”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 5984, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Katze is recorded at frequency rank #2,659, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈkat͡sə]. Katzen is at rank #3,325, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈkat͡sn̩].

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 5984, this pair ranks #1,993,082 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of Katze vs Katzen

Shared letters: aektz. Private to "Katze": -. Private to "Katzen": n.

"Katze" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV  ·  "Katzen" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Katzeaktze · katez · kattze · katzze · kazte · kkatze · ktaze
  • Katzenaktzen · katezn · kattzen · katzenn · katzne · katzzen · kazten · kkatzen

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "Katze" and "Katzen" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ˈkat͡sə] versus [ˈkat͡sn̩]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "Katze" vs "Katzen" - which ranks higher?
"Katze" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #2,659 in our German list, against #3,325 for "Katzen". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Useful next steps

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

  • Full dictionary entry for "Katze" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Katzen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,993,082 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Katze" and "Katzen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "karge vs Katze". 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 #1,993,082 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