KetzervsKreuzerTell them apart

Which to use

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

#30,144
“Ketzer” frequency rank
#14,111
“Kreuzer” frequency rank
44255
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Ketzer Kreuzer
Definition jemand, der kirchliche Dogmen und Glaubenslehren ablehnt und/oder öffentlich kritisiert schnelles, mittelgroßes, leicht gepanzertes Kriegsschiff

Where the eye mixes Ketzer and Kreuzer

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. Ketzer runs 6 letters (CVCCVC) against Kreuzer's 7 (CCVVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

6 ch
Ketzer
7 ch
Kreuzer

Visual trap between Ketzer and Kreuzer

A purely visual mix-up. Ketzer ([ˈkɛt͡sɐ]) and Kreuzer ([ˈkʁɔɪ̯t͡sɐ]) 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 44255, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Ketzer is recorded at frequency rank #30,144, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈkɛt͡sɐ]. Kreuzer is at rank #14,111, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈkʁɔɪ̯t͡sɐ].

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 44255, this pair ranks #1,392,018 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of Ketzer vs Kreuzer

Shared letters: ekrz. Private to "Ketzer": t. Private to "Kreuzer": u.

"Ketzer" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC  ·  "Kreuzer" · 7 letters · shape CCVVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Ketzer ← ektzer · ketezr · kettzer · ketzerr · ketzre · ketzzer · kezter · kketzer
  • Kreuzer ← keruzer · kkreuzer · kreuezr · kreuzerr · kreuzre · kreuzzer · krezuer · krreuzer

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "Ketzer" for "Kreuzer" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([ˈkɛt͡sɐ] versus [ˈkʁɔɪ̯t͡sɐ]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
In ordinary German text, does "Ketzer" or "Kreuzer" show up more?
"Kreuzer" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #14,111 in our German list, against #30,144 for "Ketzer". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

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

  • Full dictionary entry for "Ketzer" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Kreuzer" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,392,018 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Ketzer" and "Kreuzer" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Ketzer 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 #1,392,018 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