Which to use
“Katze” is a noun and “kratzen” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #2,659
- “Katze” frequency rank
- #15,138
- “kratzen” frequency rank
- 17797
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | Katze | kratzen |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | in zahlreichen Rassen gezüchtetes, dem Menschen verbundenes, anschmiegsames Haustier (Felis silvestris catus) | sich mit den Fingernägeln, Krallen oder ähnlichen spitzen, scharfen Dingen, die dazu geeignet sind, einen Abrieb zu verursachen, schaben |
Where the eye mixes Katze and kratzen
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: Katze vs kratzen
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: Katze is [ˈkat͡sə] while kratzen is [ˈkʁat͡sn̩]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 2 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 17797, 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]. kratzen is at rank #15,138, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈkʁat͡sn̩].
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 17797, this pair ranks #1,924,166 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of Katze vs kratzen
Shared letters: aektz. Private to "Katze": -. Private to "kratzen": nr.
"Katze" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV · "kratzen" · 7 letters · shape CCVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "Katze" for "kratzen" ever safe?
In ordinary German text, does "Katze" or "kratzen" show up more?
After this comparison
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 "kratzen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,924,166 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "Katze" and "kratzen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Krätze vs kratzen". 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 #1,924,166 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.