Which to use
“Kran” is a noun and “krank” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #18,605
- “Kran” frequency rank
- #1,736
- “krank” frequency rank
- 20341
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | Kran | krank |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | manuell oder motorisch betriebene, mit einem (beweglichen) Ausleger versehene Vorrichtung, mithilfe derer Lasten oder sperrige Gegenstände gehoben und/oder versetzt werden | körperlich und/oder psychisch gesundheitlich eingeschränkt |
Where the eye mixes Kran and krank
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between Kran and krank
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: Kran is [kʁaːn] while krank is [kʁaŋk]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 extra letter(s) - “Kran” sits inside “krank”, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 20341, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
Kran is recorded at frequency rank #18,605, classified as anoun, pronounced [kʁaːn]. krank is at rank #1,736, tagged as anadj, pronounced [kʁaŋk].
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 20341, this pair ranks #1,898,739 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of Kran vs krank
Shared letters: aknr. Private to "Kran": -. Private to "krank": -.
"Kran" · 4 letters · shape CCVC · "krank" · 5 letters · shape CCVCC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "Kran" for "krank" ever safe?
In ordinary German text, does "Kran" or "krank" show up more?
Useful next steps
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "Kran" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "krank" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,898,739 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "Kran" and "krank" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Kran vs krönt". 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 #1,898,739 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.