KrabbevsKrätzeWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

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

#43,304
“Krabbe” frequency rank
#44,028
“Krätze” frequency rank
87332
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Krabbe Krätze
Definition ein zu den Zehnfußkrebsen gehörendes, meist im Meer lebendes Tier mit zurückgebildetem Hinterleib, nahezu kreisrundem Körper und großen Scheren am ersten Beinpaar (Brachyura) stark juckende Hautkrankheit, die durch sich in die Haut einbohrende Milben verursacht ist

Where the eye mixes Krabbe and Krätze

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence. Krabbe and Krätze follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (CCVCCV). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.

6 ch
Krabbe
6 ch
Krätze

Visual trap between Krabbe and Krätze

A purely visual mix-up. Krabbe ([ˈkʁabə]) and Krätze ([ˈkʁɛt͡sə]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 3 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 87332, 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]. Krätze is at rank #44,028, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈkʁɛt͡sə].

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 87332, this pair ranks #81,732 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of Krabbe vs Krätze

Shared letters: ekr. Private to "Krabbe": ab. Private to "Krätze": tzä.

"Krabbe" · 6 letters · shape CCVCCV  ·  "Krätze" · 6 letters · shape CCVCCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Krabbe ← karbbe · kkrabbe · krabe · krabeb · krbabe · krrabbe · rkabbe

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "Krabbe" for "Krätze" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([ˈkʁabə] versus [ˈkʁɛt͡sə]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "Krabbe" or "Krätze"?
"Krabbe" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #43,304 in our German list, against #44,028 for "Krätze". 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 "Krabbe" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Krätze" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #81,732 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Krabbe" and "Krätze" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Krätze vs Kroate". 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 #81,732 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