Katzen vs kitzeln, What's the Difference?

Which to use

“Katzen” is a noun and “kitzeln” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#3,325
“Katzen” frequency rank: #44,010
“kitzeln” frequency rank: 47335
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature	Katzen	kitzeln
Definition	Nominativ Plural des Substantivs Katze	jemanden an empfindlichen Körperstellen derart berühren, dass er zu lachen beginnt

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set Katzen and kitzeln apart are highlighted. They share 5 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

6 ch

Katzen

7 ch

kitzeln

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: Katzen is [ˈkat͡sn̩] while kitzeln is [ˈkɪt͡sl̩n]. 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 (noun vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 47335, 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]. kitzeln is at rank #44,010, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈkɪt͡sl̩n].

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 47335, this pair ranks #1,287,924 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of Katzen vs kitzeln

Shared letters: ekntz. Private to "Katzen": a. Private to "kitzeln": il.

"Katzen" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC · "kitzeln" · 7 letters · shape CVCCVCC

Known mistypes of this pair

Katzen ← aktzen · katezn · kattzen · katzenn · katzne · katzzen · kazten · kkatzen
kitzeln ← iktzeln · kitezln · kittzeln · kitzelln · kitzelnn · kitzenl · kitzlen · kitzzeln

Frequency comparison

Katzen#3,325

kitzeln#44,010

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "Katzen" and "kitzeln" be used interchangeably?

No - they are not even the same part of speech. "Katzen" is a noun and "kitzeln" a verb, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.

Which is more common, "Katzen" or "kitzeln"?

"Katzen" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #3,325 in our German list, against #44,010 for "kitzeln". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

Remembering Katzen vs kitzeln

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

Check the role first: if you need a noun, it's “Katzen”; for a verb, it's “kitzeln”.
See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “Katzen” entry
Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable