KranvsKrisTell them apart

Which to use

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

#18,605
“Kran” frequency rank
#32,137
“Kris” frequency rank
50742
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Kran Kris
Definition manuell oder motorisch betriebene, mit einem (beweglichen) Ausleger versehene Vorrichtung, mithilfe derer Lasten oder sperrige Gegenstände gehoben und/oder versetzt werden Dolch mit besonderer, geflammter Klinge

Where the eye mixes Kran and Kris

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.

4 ch
Kran
4 ch
Kris

Visual trap between Kran and Kris

A purely visual mix-up. Kran ([kʁaːn]) and Kris ([kʁiːs]) 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 50742, 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]. Kris is at rank #32,137, tagged as anoun, pronounced [kʁiːs].

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 50742, this pair ranks #1,162,203 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of Kran vs Kris

Shared letters: kr. Private to "Kran": an. Private to "Kris": is.

"Kran" · 4 letters · shape CCVC  ·  "Kris" · 4 letters · shape CCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Krankarn · kkran · krann · krna · krran · rkan
  • Kriskirs · kkris · kriss · krris · krsi · rkis

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "Kran" and "Kris" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([kʁaːn] versus [kʁiːs]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "Kran" or "Kris"?
"Kran" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #18,605 in our German list, against #32,137 for "Kris". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

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

  • Full dictionary entry for "Kran" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Kris" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,162,203 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Kran" and "Kris" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Knies vs Kris". 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 #1,162,203 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