KerzevsKurieWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

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

#12,517
“Kerze” frequency rank
#33,692
“Kurie” frequency rank
46209
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Kerze Kurie
Definition Leuchtmittel mit offener Flamme; bestehend aus Wachs Sitz der päpstlichen Regierung oder einer bischöflichen Verwaltung, einschließlich des päpstlichen Gerichtshofes

Where the eye mixes Kerze and Kurie

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence. Kerze (CVCCV) and Kurie (CVCVV) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.

5 ch
Kerze
5 ch
Kurie

Look-alike desk: Kerze vs Kurie

A purely visual mix-up. Kerze ([ˈkɛʁt͡sə]) and Kurie ([ˈkuːʁiə]) 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 46209, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Kerze is recorded at frequency rank #12,517, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈkɛʁt͡sə]. Kurie is at rank #33,692, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈkuːʁiə].

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 46209, this pair ranks #1,326,849 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of Kerze vs Kurie

Shared letters: ekr. Private to "Kerze": z. Private to "Kurie": iu.

"Kerze" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV  ·  "Kurie" · 5 letters · shape CVCVV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Kerze ← ekrze · kerez · kerrze · kerzze · kezre · kkerze · kreze
  • Kurie ← kkurie · kruie · kuire · kurei · kurrie · ukrie

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "Kerze" and "Kurie" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ˈkɛʁt͡sə] versus [ˈkuːʁiə]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "Kerze" vs "Kurie" - which ranks higher?
"Kerze" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #12,517 in our German list, against #33,692 for "Kurie". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Useful next steps

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

  • Full dictionary entry for "Kerze" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Kurie" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,326,849 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Kerze" and "Kurie" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "karge vs Kurie". 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 #1,326,849 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