KatzevsKrätzeWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

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

#2,659
“Katze” frequency rank
#44,028
“Krätze” frequency rank
46687
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Katze Krätze
Definition in zahlreichen Rassen gezüchtetes, dem Menschen verbundenes, anschmiegsames Haustier (Felis silvestris catus) stark juckende Hautkrankheit, die durch sich in die Haut einbohrende Milben verursacht ist

Where the eye mixes Katze and Krätze

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. Katze 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
Katze
6 ch
Krätze

Visual trap between Katze and Krätze

A purely visual mix-up. Katze ([ˈkat͡sə]) 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 differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 46687, 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]. 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 46687, this pair ranks #1,310,500 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of Katze vs Krätze

Shared letters: ektz. Private to "Katze": a. Private to "Krätze": rä.

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

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Katze ← aktze · katez · kattze · katzze · kazte · kkatze · ktaze

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "Katze" for "Krätze" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([ˈkat͡sə] versus [ˈkʁɛt͡sə]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "Katze" or "Krätze"?
"Katze" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #2,659 in our German list, against #44,028 for "Krätze". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

Useful next steps

Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.

  • Full dictionary entry for "Katze" 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 #1,310,500 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Katze" 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 #1,310,500 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