Which to use
“klau” is a verb and “Kran” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #38,851
- “klau” frequency rank
- #18,605
- “Kran” frequency rank
- 57456
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | klau | Kran |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | 2. Person Singular Imperativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs klauen | manuell oder motorisch betriebene, mit einem (beweglichen) Ausleger versehene Vorrichtung, mithilfe derer Lasten oder sperrige Gegenstände gehoben und/oder versetzt werden |
Where the eye mixes klau and Kran
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses klau with Kran
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: klau is [klaʊ̯] while Kran is [kʁaːn]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 57456, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
klau is recorded at frequency rank #38,851, classified as averb, pronounced [klaʊ̯]. Kran is at rank #18,605, tagged as anoun, pronounced [kʁaːn].
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 57456, this pair ranks #900,654 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of klau vs Kran
Shared letters: ak. Private to "klau": lu. Private to "Kran": nr.
"klau" · 4 letters · shape CCVV · "Kran" · 4 letters · shape CCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "klau" for "Kran" ever safe?
Which is more common, "klau" or "Kran"?
Useful next steps
Eye-level mix-up between "klau" and "Kran" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "klau" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "Kran" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #900,654 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "klau" and "Kran" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "klau vs kola". 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 #900,654 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.