KränzevsKratzerWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

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

#43,309
“Kränze” frequency rank
#14,110
“Kratzer” frequency rank
57419
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Kränze Kratzer
Definition Nominativ Plural des Substantivs Kranz kleine bis mittelgroße Wunde oder Beschädigung, die durch bewegte Berührung mit einem spitzen Gegenstand hervorgerufen wurde

Where the eye mixes Kränze and Kratzer

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. Kränze runs 6 letters (CCVCCV) against Kratzer's 7 (CCVCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

6 ch
Kränze
7 ch
Kratzer

Visual trap between Kränze and Kratzer

A purely visual mix-up. Kränze ([ˈkʁɛnt͡sə]) and Kratzer ([ˈkʁat͡sɐ]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 57419, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Kränze is recorded at frequency rank #43,309, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈkʁɛnt͡sə]. Kratzer is at rank #14,110, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈkʁat͡sɐ].

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 57419, this pair ranks #902,125 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of Kränze vs Kratzer

Shared letters: ekrz. Private to "Kränze": nä. Private to "Kratzer": at.

"Kränze" · 6 letters · shape CCVCCV  ·  "Kratzer" · 7 letters · shape CCVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Kratzer ← kartzer · kkratzer · kratezr · krattzer · kratzerr · kratzre · kratzzer · krazter

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "Kränze" and "Kratzer" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ˈkʁɛnt͡sə] versus [ˈkʁat͡sɐ]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "Kränze" vs "Kratzer" - which ranks higher?
"Kratzer" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #14,110 in our German list, against #43,309 for "Kränze". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.

  • Full dictionary entry for "Kränze" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Kratzer" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #902,125 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Kränze" and "Kratzer" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Kränze vs Krätze". 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 #902,125 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