Which to use
“kranken” and “kratzen” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #5,507
- “kranken” frequency rank
- #15,138
- “kratzen” frequency rank
- 20645
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | kranken | kratzen |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | intransitiv, mit der Präposition an, Hilfsverb haben: | sich mit den Fingernägeln, Krallen oder ähnlichen spitzen, scharfen Dingen, die dazu geeignet sind, einen Abrieb zu verursachen, schaben |
Where the eye mixes kranken and kratzen
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between kranken and kratzen
A purely visual mix-up. kranken ([ˈkʁaŋkn̩]) and kratzen ([ˈkʁat͡sn̩]) 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 20645, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
kranken is recorded at frequency rank #5,507, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈkʁaŋkn̩]. kratzen is at rank #15,138, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈkʁat͡sn̩].
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 20645, this pair ranks #1,895,377 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of kranken vs kratzen
Shared letters: aeknr. Private to "kranken": -. Private to "kratzen": tz.
"kranken" · 7 letters · shape CCVCCVC · "kratzen" · 7 letters · shape CCVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "kranken" and "kratzen" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Which is more common, "kranken" or "kratzen"?
Useful next steps
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "kranken" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "kratzen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,895,377 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "kranken" and "kratzen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Krätze vs kratzen". 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 #1,895,377 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.