KrämpfevskrapfenWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

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

#30,154
“Krämpfe” frequency rank
#37,628
“krapfen” frequency rank
67782
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Krämpfe krapfen
Definition Nominativ Plural des Substantivs Krampf Krapfen, Berliner Pfannkuchen

Letter map: Krämpfe vs krapfen

Shared letters muted; letters that set Krämpfe and krapfen apart highlighted. Shared run: 5. Krämpfe (CCVCCCV) and krapfen (CCVCCVC) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.

7 ch
Krämpfe
7 ch
krapfen

Corpus notes: Krämpfe and krapfen

Krämpfe and krapfen are indexed as a confusable German pair. We have no recorded pronunciation or part of speech for both members, so the spelling overlap is what we can show you: they share most of their letters but differ in 5 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 67782, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Krämpfe is recorded at frequency rank #30,154, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈkʁɛmp͡fə]. krapfen is at rank #37,628, tagged as anoun, pronounced […].

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 67782, this pair ranks #528,928 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of Krämpfe vs krapfen

Shared letters: efkpr. Private to "Krämpfe": mä. Private to "krapfen": an.

"Krämpfe" · 7 letters · shape CCVCCCV  ·  "krapfen" · 7 letters · shape CCVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • krapfen ← kkrapfen · krafpen · krapefn · krapfenn · krapffen · krapfne · krappfen · krpafen

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "Krämpfe" for "krapfen" ever safe?
No. They share most of their letters but differ in 5 positions, but the dictionary glosses above give them different meanings, so swapping one for the other changes what the sentence says.
Frequency check: "Krämpfe" vs "krapfen" - which ranks higher?
"Krämpfe" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #30,154 in our German list, against #37,628 for "krapfen". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Useful next steps

You've compared "Krämpfe" and "krapfen". Here's where to go from here.

  • Full dictionary entry for "Krämpfe" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "krapfen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #528,928 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Krämpfe" and "krapfen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "krapfen vs puzzles". 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 #528,928 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