kräftigenvskräftigerWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: kräftigen is a verb, kräftiger is an adjective, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“kräftigen” is a verb and “kräftiger” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#10,317
“kräftigen” frequency rank
#16,762
“kräftiger” frequency rank
27079
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature kräftigen kräftiger
Definition etwas/jemanden kräftig machen Nominativ Singular Maskulinum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs kräftig

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set kräftigen and kräftiger apart are highlighted. They share 8 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

9 ch
kräftigen
9 ch
kräftiger

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: kräftigen is [ˈkʁɛftɪɡn̩] while kräftiger is [ˈkʁɛftɪɡɐ]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by a single letter - n in “kräftigen” becomes r in “kräftiger”, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 27079, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

kräftigen is recorded at frequency rank #10,317, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈkʁɛftɪɡn̩]. 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 27079, this pair ranks #1,807,682 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of kräftigen vs kräftiger

Shared letters: efgikrtä. Private to "kräftigen": n. Private to "kräftiger": -.

"kräftigen" · 9 letters · shape CCVCCVCVC  ·  "kräftiger" · 9 letters · shape CCVCCVCVC

Frequency comparison

kräftigen#10,317
kräftiger#16,762

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "kräftigen" and "kräftiger" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "kräftigen" is a verb and "kräftiger" an adjective, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "kräftigen" or "kräftiger"?
"kräftigen" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #10,317 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.

Remembering kräftigen vs kräftiger

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

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