krähtvsKranWhat's the difference?

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

Which to use

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

#46,792
“kräht” frequency rank
#18,605
“Kran” frequency rank
65397
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature kräht Kran
Definition 2. Person Plural Imperativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs krähen manuell oder motorisch betriebene, mit einem (beweglichen) Ausleger versehene Vorrichtung, mithilfe derer Lasten oder sperrige Gegenstände gehoben und/oder versetzt werden

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set kräht and Kran apart are highlighted. They share 2 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

5 ch
kräht
4 ch
Kran

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: kräht is [kʁɛːt] while Kran is [kʁaːn]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 65397, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

kräht is recorded at frequency rank #46,792, classified as averb, pronounced [kʁɛːt]. Kran is at rank #18,605, tagged as anoun, pronounced [kʁaːn].

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 65397, this pair ranks #608,333 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of kräht vs Kran

Shared letters: kr. Private to "kräht": htä. Private to "Kran": an.

"kräht" · 5 letters · shape CCVCC  ·  "Kran" · 4 letters · shape CCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Krankarn · kkran · krann · krna · krran · rkan

Frequency comparison

kräht#46,792
Kran#18,605

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "kräht" and "Kran" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "kräht" is a verb and "Kran" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "kräht" or "Kran"?
"Kran" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #18,605 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.

Remembering kräht vs Kran

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a verb, it's “kräht”; for a noun, it's “Kran”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “kräht” 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 FrequencyWords open word-frequency list