KrachvsKranichTell them apart

Which to use

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

#16,476
“Krach” frequency rank
#46,086
“Kranich” frequency rank
62562
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Krach Kranich
Definition ohne Plural: sehr lautes, unangenehmes Geräusch; plötzliches, hartes, sehr lautes Geräusch Vertreter der Vogelfamilie

Where the eye mixes Krach and Kranich

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. Krach runs 5 letters (CCVCC) against Kranich's 7 (CCVCVCC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

5 ch
Krach
7 ch
Kranich

Why the eye confuses Krach with Kranich

A purely visual mix-up. Krach ([kʁax]) and Kranich ([ˈkʁaːnɪç]) 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 62562, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Krach is recorded at frequency rank #16,476, classified as anoun, pronounced [kʁax]. Kranich is at rank #46,086, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈkʁaːnɪç].

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 62562, this pair ranks #708,323 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of Krach vs Kranich

Shared letters: achkr. Private to "Krach": -. Private to "Kranich": in.

"Krach" · 5 letters · shape CCVCC  ·  "Kranich" · 7 letters · shape CCVCVCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Krach ← karch · kkrach · kracch · krachh · krahc · krcah · krrach · rkach
  • Kranich ← karnich · kkranich · krainch · krancih · kranicch · kranichh · kranihc · krannich

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "Krach" and "Kranich" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([kʁax] versus [ˈkʁaːnɪç]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "Krach" or "Kranich"?
"Krach" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #16,476 in our German list, against #46,086 for "Kranich". 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 "Krach" and "Kranich" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.

  • Full dictionary entry for "Krach" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Kranich" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #708,323 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Krach" and "Kranich" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Kranich vs Kraniche". 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 #708,323 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