krachenvsKräheWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: krachen is a verb, Krähe is a noun, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“krachen” is a verb and “Krähe” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#15,413
“krachen” frequency rank
#36,466
“Krähe” frequency rank
51879
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature krachen Krähe
Definition ein lautes Geräusch von sich geben, wenn jemand/etwas schnell gegen etwas prallt ein Rabenvogel mit starkem Schnabel (mittelgroße Arten der Gattung Corvus)

Where the spellings diverge

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

7 ch
krachen
5 ch
Krähe

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: krachen is [ˈkʁaxn̩] while Krähe is [ˈkʁɛːə]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 2 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 51879, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

krachen is recorded at frequency rank #15,413, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈkʁaxn̩]. Krähe is at rank #36,466, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈkʁɛːə].

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 51879, this pair ranks #1,118,501 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of krachen vs Krähe

Shared letters: ehkr. Private to "krachen": acn. Private to "Krähe": ä.

"krachen" · 7 letters · shape CCVCCVC  ·  "Krähe" · 5 letters · shape CCVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • krachenkarchen · kkrachen · kracchen · kracehn · krachenn · krachhen · krachne · krahcen

Frequency comparison

krachen#15,413
Krähe#36,466

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "krachen" and "Krähe" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "krachen" is a verb and "Krähe" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "krachen" or "Krähe"?
"krachen" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #15,413 in our German list, against #36,466 for "Krähe". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering krachen vs Krähe

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

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