KrampfvsKrämpfeWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

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

#21,324
“Krampf” frequency rank
#30,154
“Krämpfe” frequency rank
51478
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Krampf Krämpfe
Definition ungewollte starke Muskelanspannung, die mit sehr großen Schmerzen verbunden sein kann Nominativ Plural des Substantivs Krampf

Where the eye mixes Krampf and Krämpfe

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence.

6 ch
Krampf
7 ch
Krämpfe

Why the eye confuses Krampf with Krämpfe

A purely visual mix-up. Krampf ([kʁamp͡f]) and Krämpfe ([ˈkʁɛmp͡fə]) 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 51478, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Krampf is recorded at frequency rank #21,324, classified as anoun, pronounced [kʁamp͡f]. Krämpfe is at rank #30,154, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈkʁɛmp͡fə].

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 51478, this pair ranks #1,134,042 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of Krampf vs Krämpfe

Shared letters: fkmpr. Private to "Krampf": a. Private to "Krämpfe": .

"Krampf" · 6 letters · shape CCVCCC  ·  "Krämpfe" · 7 letters · shape CCVCCCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Krampfkarmpf · kkrampf · kramfp · krammpf · krampff · kramppf · krapmf · krmapf

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "Krampf" for "Krämpfe" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([kʁamp͡f] versus [ˈkʁɛmp͡fə]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "Krampf" vs "Krämpfe" - which ranks higher?
"Krampf" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #21,324 in our German list, against #30,154 for "Krämpfe". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Useful next steps

Eye-level mix-up between "Krampf" and "Krämpfe" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.

  • Full dictionary entry for "Krampf" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Krämpfe" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,134,042 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Krampf" and "Krämpfe" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Krämpfe vs krapfen". 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 #1,134,042 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