KiesvsKriegsConfusable pair

Which to use

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

#18,946
“Kies” frequency rank
#10,684
“Kriegs” frequency rank
29630
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Kies Kriegs
Definition lose Gesteinsstücke in einer Korngröße von etwa 3 mm bis 30 mm Genitiv Singular des Substantivs Krieg

Where the eye mixes Kies and Kriegs

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

4 ch
Kies
6 ch
Kriegs

Why the eye confuses Kies with Kriegs

A purely visual mix-up. Kies ([kiːs]) and Kriegs ([kʁiːks]) 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 2 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 29630, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Kies is recorded at frequency rank #18,946, classified as anoun, pronounced [kiːs]. Kriegs is at rank #10,684, tagged as anoun, pronounced [kʁiːks].

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 29630, this pair ranks #1,763,280 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of Kies vs Kriegs

Shared letters: eiks. Private to "Kies": -. Private to "Kriegs": gr.

"Kies" · 4 letters · shape CVVC  ·  "Kriegs" · 6 letters · shape CCVVCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Kies ← ikes · keis · kiess · kise · kkies
  • Kriegs ← kiregs · kkriegs · kreigs · krieggs · kriegss · kriesg · kriges · krriegs

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "Kies" and "Kriegs" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([kiːs] versus [kʁiːks]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "Kies" vs "Kriegs" - which ranks higher?
"Kriegs" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #10,684 in our German list, against #18,946 for "Kies". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Useful next steps

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

  • Full dictionary entry for "Kies" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Kriegs" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,763,280 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Kies" and "Kriegs" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Kies vs Knies". 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 #1,763,280 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