KatzenvsKettenTell them apart

Which to use

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

#3,325
“Katzen” frequency rank
#7,780
“Ketten” frequency rank
11105
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Katzen Ketten
Definition Nominativ Plural des Substantivs Katze Nominativ Plural des Substantivs Kette

Where the eye mixes Katzen and Ketten

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.

6 ch
Katzen
6 ch
Ketten

Visual trap between Katzen and Ketten

A purely visual mix-up. Katzen ([ˈkat͡sn̩]) and Ketten ([ˈkɛtn̩]) 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 11105, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Katzen is recorded at frequency rank #3,325, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈkat͡sn̩]. Ketten is at rank #7,780, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈkɛtn̩].

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 11105, this pair ranks #1,971,673 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of Katzen vs Ketten

Shared letters: eknt. Private to "Katzen": az. Private to "Ketten": -.

"Katzen" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC  ·  "Ketten" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Katzenaktzen · katezn · kattzen · katzenn · katzne · katzzen · kazten · kkatzen
  • Kettenektten · keten · ketetn · kettenn · kettne · kketten · kteten

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "Katzen" and "Ketten" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([ˈkat͡sn̩] versus [ˈkɛtn̩]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "Katzen" vs "Ketten" - which ranks higher?
"Katzen" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #3,325 in our German list, against #7,780 for "Ketten". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.

  • Full dictionary entry for "Katzen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Ketten" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,971,673 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Katzen" and "Ketten" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Ketten 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 #1,971,673 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