kickenvsKrückenWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: kicken is a verb, Krücken is a noun, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

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

#28,270
“kicken” frequency rank
#30,155
“Krücken” frequency rank
58425
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature kicken Krücken
Definition etwas oder jemanden treten Nominativ Plural des Substantivs Krücke

Where the spellings diverge

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

6 ch
kicken
7 ch
Krücken

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: kicken is [ˈkɪkn̩] while Krücken is [ˈkʁʏkn̩]. 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 (verb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 58425, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

kicken is recorded at frequency rank #28,270, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈkɪkn̩]. Krücken is at rank #30,155, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈkʁʏkn̩].

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 58425, this pair ranks #863,226 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of kicken vs Krücken

Shared letters: cekn. Private to "kicken": i. Private to "Krücken": .

"kicken" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC  ·  "Krücken" · 7 letters · shape CCVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • kickenikcken · kciken · kiccken · kicekn · kickenn · kickken · kickne · kikcen

Frequency comparison

kicken#28,270
Krücken#30,155

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "kicken" and "Krücken" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "kicken" is a verb and "Krücken" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "kicken" or "Krücken"?
"kicken" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #28,270 in our German list, against #30,155 for "Krücken". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering kicken vs Krücken

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

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

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list