kräftigenvskräftigesWhat's the difference?

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

Which to use

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

#10,317
“kräftigen” frequency rank
#33,157
“kräftiges” frequency rank
43474
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

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

Where the spellings diverge

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

9 ch
kräftigen
9 ch
kräftiges

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: kräftigen is [ˈkʁɛftɪɡn̩] while kräftiges is [ˈkʁɛftɪɡəs]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by a single letter - n in “kräftigen” becomes s in “kräftiges”, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 43474, 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]. kräftiges is at rank #33,157, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ˈkʁɛftɪɡəs].

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 43474, this pair ranks #1,416,918 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of kräftigen vs kräftiges

Shared letters: efgikrtä. Private to "kräftigen": n. Private to "kräftiges": s.

"kräftigen" · 9 letters · shape CCVCCVCVC  ·  "kräftiges" · 9 letters · shape CCVCCVCVC

Frequency comparison

kräftigen#10,317
kräftiges#33,157

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "kräftigen" and "kräftiges" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "kräftigen" is a verb and "kräftiges" an adjective, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "kräftigen" or "kräftiges"?
"kräftigen" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #10,317 in our German list, against #33,157 for "kräftiges". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering kräftigen vs kräftiges

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 “kräftiges”.
  • 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