Which to use
“krachen” and “kratzen” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #15,413
- “krachen” frequency rank
- #15,138
- “kratzen” frequency rank
- 30551
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | krachen | kratzen |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | ein lautes Geräusch von sich geben, wenn jemand/etwas schnell gegen etwas prallt | sich mit den Fingernägeln, Krallen oder ähnlichen spitzen, scharfen Dingen, die dazu geeignet sind, einen Abrieb zu verursachen, schaben |
Where the eye mixes krachen and kratzen
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between krachen and kratzen
A purely visual mix-up. krachen ([ˈkʁaxn̩]) and kratzen ([ˈkʁat͡sn̩]) 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 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 30551, 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]. kratzen is at rank #15,138, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈkʁat͡sn̩].
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 30551, this pair ranks #1,745,621 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of krachen vs kratzen
Shared letters: aeknr. Private to "krachen": ch. Private to "kratzen": tz.
"krachen" · 7 letters · shape CCVCCVC · "kratzen" · 7 letters · shape CCVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "krachen" and "kratzen" be used interchangeably?
Frequency check: "krachen" vs "kratzen" - which ranks higher?
After this comparison
Eye-level mix-up between "krachen" and "kratzen" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "krachen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "kratzen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,745,621 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "krachen" and "kratzen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Kärtchen vs krachen". 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 #1,745,621 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.