kräftigvskräftigerTell them apart

Which to use

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

#4,807
“kräftig” frequency rank
#16,762
“kräftiger” frequency rank
21569
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature kräftig kräftiger
Definition mit Kraft ausgestattet, von Kraft geprägt, zeugend Nominativ Singular Maskulinum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs kräftig

Where the eye mixes kräftig and kräftiger

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence. kräftig runs 7 letters (CCVCCVC) against kräftiger's 9 (CCVCCVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

7 ch
kräftig
9 ch
kräftiger

Look-alike desk: kräftig vs kräftiger

A purely visual mix-up. kräftig ([ˈkʁɛftɪç]) and kräftiger ([ˈkʁɛftɪɡɐ]) 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 extra letter(s) - “kräftig” sits inside “kräftiger”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 21569, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

kräftig is recorded at frequency rank #4,807, classified as anadj, pronounced [ˈkʁɛftɪç]. kräftiger is at rank #16,762, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ˈkʁɛftɪɡɐ].

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 21569, this pair ranks #1,884,724 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of kräftig vs kräftiger

Shared letters: fgikrtä. Private to "kräftig": -. Private to "kräftiger": e.

"kräftig" · 7 letters · shape CCVCCVC  ·  "kräftiger" · 9 letters · shape CCVCCVCVC

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "kräftig" and "kräftiger" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ˈkʁɛftɪç] versus [ˈkʁɛftɪɡɐ]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "kräftig" or "kräftiger"?
"kräftig" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #4,807 in our German list, against #16,762 for "kräftiger". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

Eye-level mix-up between "kräftig" and "kräftiger" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.

  • Full dictionary entry for "kräftig" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "kräftiger" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,884,724 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "kräftig" and "kräftiger" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "kantig vs kräftig". Nearby pair

Confusion rank #1,884,724 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