KatzenvsKotzeWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

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

#3,325
“Katzen” frequency rank
#24,411
“Kotze” frequency rank
27736
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Katzen Kotze
Definition Nominativ Plural des Substantivs Katze das Erbrochene

Where the eye mixes Katzen and Kotze

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. Katzen runs 6 letters (CVCCVC) against Kotze's 5 (CVCCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

6 ch
Katzen
5 ch
Kotze

Visual trap between Katzen and Kotze

A purely visual mix-up. Katzen ([ˈkat͡sn̩]) and Kotze ([ˈkɔt͡sə]) 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 27736, 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]. Kotze is at rank #24,411, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈkɔt͡sə].

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 27736, this pair ranks #1,796,728 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of Katzen vs Kotze

Shared letters: ektz. Private to "Katzen": an. Private to "Kotze": o.

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

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Katzen ← aktzen · katezn · kattzen · katzenn · katzne · katzzen · kazten · kkatzen
  • Kotze ← kkotze · kotez · kottze · kotzze · kozte · ktoze · oktze

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "Katzen" and "Kotze" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([ˈkat͡sn̩] versus [ˈkɔt͡sə]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "Katzen" vs "Kotze" - which ranks higher?
"Katzen" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #3,325 in our German list, against #24,411 for "Kotze". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

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

  • Full dictionary entry for "Katzen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Kotze" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,796,728 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Katzen" and "Kotze" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Kölle vs Kotze". 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 #1,796,728 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