KrämervsKrümelWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

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

#18,607
“Krämer” frequency rank
#29,663
“Krümel” frequency rank
48270
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Krämer Krümel
Definition jemand, der ein kleines Geschäft betreibt kleines, abgebröseltes Stück; insbesondere von Gebackenem wie Brot, Kuchen, Keksen, Chips, aber auch von festen Stoffen wie Putz, Gips und dergleichen

Where the eye mixes Krämer and Krümel

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

6 ch
Krämer
6 ch
Krümel

Why the eye confuses Krämer with Krümel

A purely visual mix-up. Krämer ([ˈkʁɛːmɐ]) and Krümel ([ˈkʁyːml̩]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 48270, 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]. Krümel is at rank #29,663, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈkʁyːml̩].

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 48270, this pair ranks #1,254,736 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of Krämer vs Krümel

Shared letters: ekmr. Private to "Krämer": ä. Private to "Krümel": .

"Krämer" · 6 letters · shape CCVCVC  ·  "Krümel" · 6 letters · shape CCVCVC

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "Krämer" for "Krümel" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([ˈkʁɛːmɐ] versus [ˈkʁyːml̩]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
In ordinary German text, does "Krämer" or "Krümel" show up more?
"Krämer" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #18,607 in our German list, against #29,663 for "Krümel". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

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

  • Full dictionary entry for "Krämer" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Krümel" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,254,736 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Krämer" and "Krümel" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "krempel vs Krümel". Nearby pair

Confusion rank #1,254,736 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