KrabbevskrasseWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: Krabbe is a noun, krasse is an adjective, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“Krabbe” is a noun and “krasse” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#43,304
“Krabbe” frequency rank
#12,748
“krasse” frequency rank
56052
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Krabbe krasse
Definition ein zu den Zehnfußkrebsen gehörendes, meist im Meer lebendes Tier mit zurückgebildetem Hinterleib, nahezu kreisrundem Körper und großen Scheren am ersten Beinpaar (Brachyura) Nominativ Singular Femininum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs krass

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set Krabbe and krasse apart are highlighted. They share 4 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

6 ch
Krabbe
6 ch
krasse

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: Krabbe is [ˈkʁabə] while krasse is [ˈkʁasə]. 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 (noun vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 56052, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Krabbe is recorded at frequency rank #43,304, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈkʁabə]. krasse is at rank #12,748, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ˈkʁasə].

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 56052, this pair ranks #955,489 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of Krabbe vs krasse

Shared letters: aekr. Private to "Krabbe": b. Private to "krasse": s.

"Krabbe" · 6 letters · shape CCVCCV  ·  "krasse" · 6 letters · shape CCVCCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Krabbekarbbe · kkrabbe · krabe · krabeb · krbabe · krrabbe · rkabbe
  • krassekarsse · kkrasse · krase · krases · kraße · krrasse · krsase · rkasse

Frequency comparison

Krabbe#43,304
krasse#12,748

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "Krabbe" and "krasse" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "Krabbe" is a noun and "krasse" an adjective, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "Krabbe" or "krasse"?
"krasse" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #12,748 in our German list, against #43,304 for "Krabbe". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering Krabbe vs krasse

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a noun, it's “Krabbe”; for an adjective, it's “krasse”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “Krabbe” 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