krähenvskrähtWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

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

#26,490
“krähen” frequency rank
#46,792
“kräht” frequency rank
73282
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature krähen kräht
Definition den typischen Tierlaut eines Hahnes machen 2. Person Plural Imperativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs krähen

Where the eye mixes krähen and kräht

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. krähen runs 6 letters (CCVCVC) against kräht's 5 (CCVCC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

6 ch
krähen
5 ch
kräht

Look-alike desk: krähen vs kräht

A purely visual mix-up. krähen ([ˈkʁɛːən]) and kräht ([kʁɛːt]) 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 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 73282, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

krähen is recorded at frequency rank #26,490, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈkʁɛːən]. kräht is at rank #46,792, tagged as averb, pronounced [kʁɛːt].

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 73282, this pair ranks #364,613 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of krähen vs kräht

Shared letters: hkrä. Private to "krähen": en. Private to "kräht": t.

"krähen" · 6 letters · shape CCVCVC  ·  "kräht" · 5 letters · shape CCVCC

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "krähen" and "kräht" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ˈkʁɛːən] versus [kʁɛːt]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "krähen" or "kräht"?
"krähen" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #26,490 in our German list, against #46,792 for "kräht". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.

  • Full dictionary entry for "krähen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "kräht" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #364,613 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "krähen" and "kräht" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "kräht vs krönt". Nearby pair

Confusion rank #364,613 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