KranzvskratzTell them apart

Quick tell: Kranz is a noun, kratz is a verb, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“Kranz” is a noun and “kratz” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#16,477
“Kranz” frequency rank
#39,484
“kratz” frequency rank
55961
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Kranz kratz
Definition ringförmiges Schmuckgewinde aus Blumen, Stroh oder anderen organischen Materialien 2. Person Singular Imperativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs kratzen

Where the eye mixes Kranz and kratz

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. Kranz and kratz follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (CCVCC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.

5 ch
Kranz
5 ch
kratz

Why the eye confuses Kranz with kratz

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: Kranz is [kʁant͡s] while kratz is [kʁat͡s]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by a single letter - n in “Kranz” becomes t in “kratz”, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 55961, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Kranz is recorded at frequency rank #16,477, classified as anoun, pronounced [kʁant͡s]. kratz is at rank #39,484, tagged as averb, pronounced [kʁat͡s].

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 55961, this pair ranks #958,969 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of Kranz vs kratz

Shared letters: akrz. Private to "Kranz": n. Private to "kratz": t.

"Kranz" · 5 letters · shape CCVCC  ·  "kratz" · 5 letters · shape CCVCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Kranz ← karnz · kkranz · krannz · kranzz · krazn · krnaz · krranz · rkanz
  • kratz ← kartz · kkratz · kratzz · krazt · krratz · krtaz · rkatz

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "Kranz" and "kratz" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "Kranz" is a noun and "kratz" a verb, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "Kranz" or "kratz"?
"Kranz" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #16,477 in our German list, against #39,484 for "kratz". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

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

  • Full dictionary entry for "Kranz" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "kratz" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #958,969 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Kranz" and "kratz" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "kratz vs Kroate". 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 #958,969 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