KeksevsKrebseTell them apart

Which to use

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

#10,504
“Kekse” frequency rank
#46,089
“Krebse” frequency rank
56593
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Kekse Krebse
Definition Variante für den Dativ Singular des Substantivs Keks Variante für den Dativ Singular des Substantivs Krebs

Where the eye mixes Kekse and Krebse

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

5 ch
Kekse
6 ch
Krebse

Look-alike desk: Kekse vs Krebse

A purely visual mix-up. Kekse ([ˈkeːksə]) and Krebse ([ˈkʁeːpsə]) 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 56593, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Kekse is recorded at frequency rank #10,504, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈkeːksə]. Krebse is at rank #46,089, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈkʁeːpsə].

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 56593, this pair ranks #934,270 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of Kekse vs Krebse

Shared letters: eks. Private to "Kekse": -. Private to "Krebse": br.

"Kekse" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV  ·  "Krebse" · 6 letters · shape CCVCCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Kekseekkse · kekes · kekkse · keksse · keske · kkekse · kkese
  • Krebsekerbse · kkrebse · krbese · krebbse · krebes · krebsse · kresbe · krrebse

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "Kekse" and "Krebse" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ˈkeːksə] versus [ˈkʁeːpsə]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "Kekse" vs "Krebse" - which ranks higher?
"Kekse" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #10,504 in our German list, against #46,089 for "Krebse". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

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

  • Full dictionary entry for "Kekse" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Krebse" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #934,270 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Kekse" and "Krebse" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Krabbe vs Krebse". 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 #934,270 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