KrankervsKräuterWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#15,933
“Kranker” frequency rank
#12,329
“Kräuter” frequency rank
28262
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Kranker Kräuter
Definition jemand, der an einer Krankheit leidet Nominativ Plural des Substantivs Kraut

Where the eye mixes Kranker and Kräuter

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. Kranker (CCVCCVC) and Kräuter (CCVVCVC) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.

7 ch
Kranker
7 ch
Kräuter

Visual trap between Kranker and Kräuter

A purely visual mix-up. Kranker ([ˈkʁaŋkɐ]) and Kräuter ([ˈkʁɔɪ̯tɐ]) 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 3 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 28262, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Kranker is recorded at frequency rank #15,933, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈkʁaŋkɐ]. Kräuter is at rank #12,329, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈkʁɔɪ̯tɐ].

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 28262, this pair ranks #1,787,853 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of Kranker vs Kräuter

Shared letters: ekr. Private to "Kranker": an. Private to "Kräuter": tuä.

"Kranker" · 7 letters · shape CCVCCVC  ·  "Kräuter" · 7 letters · shape CCVVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Kranker ← karnker · kkranker · krakner · kranekr · krankerr · krankker · krankre · krannker

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "Kranker" for "Kräuter" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([ˈkʁaŋkɐ] versus [ˈkʁɔɪ̯tɐ]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "Kranker" vs "Kräuter" - which ranks higher?
"Kräuter" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #12,329 in our German list, against #15,933 for "Kranker". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

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 "Kranker" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Kräuter" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,787,853 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Kranker" and "Kräuter" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Kraken vs Kranker". 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 #1,787,853 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