KrämervsKrankerWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#18,607
“Krämer” frequency rank
#15,933
“Kranker” frequency rank
34540
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Krämer Kranker
Definition jemand, der ein kleines Geschäft betreibt jemand, der an einer Krankheit leidet

Where the eye mixes Krämer and Kranker

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.

6 ch
Krämer
7 ch
Kranker

Why the eye confuses Krämer with Kranker

A purely visual mix-up. Krämer ([ˈkʁɛːmɐ]) and Kranker ([ˈkʁaŋkɐ]) 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 34540, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Krämer is recorded at frequency rank #18,607, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈkʁɛːmɐ]. Kranker is at rank #15,933, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈkʁaŋkɐ].

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 34540, this pair ranks #1,660,980 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of Krämer vs Kranker

Shared letters: ekr. Private to "Krämer": . Private to "Kranker": an.

"Krämer" · 6 letters · shape CCVCVC  ·  "Kranker" · 7 letters · shape CCVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Krankerkarnker · kkranker · krakner · kranekr · krankerr · krankker · krankre · krannker

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "Krämer" for "Kranker" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([ˈkʁɛːmɐ] versus [ˈkʁaŋkɐ]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "Krämer" or "Kranker"?
"Kranker" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #15,933 in our German list, against #18,607 for "Krämer". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.

  • Full dictionary entry for "Krämer" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Kranker" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,660,980 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Krämer" and "Kranker" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Kraken vs Krämer". Nearby pair
  • Recorded mistypes exist for at least one side of this pair, useful when a spell-checker or OCR lands on the wrong form. See mistypes

Confusion rank #1,660,980 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