KräftenvskratzenWhat's the difference?

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

Which to use

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

#7,496
“Kräften” frequency rank
#15,138
“kratzen” frequency rank
22634
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Kräften kratzen
Definition Dativ Plural des Substantivs Kraft sich mit den Fingernägeln, Krallen oder ähnlichen spitzen, scharfen Dingen, die dazu geeignet sind, einen Abrieb zu verursachen, schaben

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set Kräften and kratzen apart are highlighted. They share 5 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

7 ch
Kräften
7 ch
kratzen

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: Kräften is [ˈkʁɛftn̩] while kratzen is [ˈkʁat͡sn̩]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 3 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 22634, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Kräften is recorded at frequency rank #7,496, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈkʁɛftn̩]. 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 22634, this pair ranks #1,871,724 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of Kräften vs kratzen

Shared letters: eknrt. Private to "Kräften": . Private to "kratzen": az.

"Kräften" · 7 letters · shape CCVCCVC  ·  "kratzen" · 7 letters · shape CCVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • kratzenkartzen · kkratzen · kratezn · krattzen · kratzenn · kratzne · kratzzen · krazten

Frequency comparison

Kräften#7,496
kratzen#15,138

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "Kräften" and "kratzen" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "Kräften" is a noun and "kratzen" a verb, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "Kräften" or "kratzen"?
"Kräften" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #7,496 in our German list, against #15,138 for "kratzen". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering Kräften vs kratzen

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

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