krapfenvskratzenWhich spelling fits?

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

Which to use

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

#37,628
“krapfen” frequency rank
#15,138
“kratzen” frequency rank
52766
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature krapfen kratzen
Definition Krapfen, Berliner Pfannkuchen sich mit den Fingernägeln, Krallen oder ähnlichen spitzen, scharfen Dingen, die dazu geeignet sind, einen Abrieb zu verursachen, schaben

Letter map: krapfen vs kratzen

Shared letters muted; letters that set krapfen and kratzen apart highlighted. Shared run: 5.

7 ch
krapfen
7 ch
kratzen

Grammar separator: krapfen vs kratzen

Our dataset has no pronunciation recorded for both members, so the reliable separator here is grammatical: krapfen is anoun and kratzenaverb. On the page they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 52766, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

krapfen is recorded at frequency rank #37,628, classified as anoun, pronounced […]. 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 52766, this pair ranks #1,084,062 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of krapfen vs kratzen

Shared letters: aeknr. Private to "krapfen": fp. Private to "kratzen": tz.

"krapfen" · 7 letters · shape CCVCCVC  ·  "kratzen" · 7 letters · shape CCVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • krapfenkkrapfen · krafpen · krapefn · krapfenn · krapffen · krapfne · krappfen · krpafen
  • kratzenkartzen · kkratzen · kratezn · krattzen · kratzenn · kratzne · kratzzen · krazten

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "krapfen" and "kratzen" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "krapfen" is a noun and "kratzen" a verb, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "krapfen" or "kratzen"?
"kratzen" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #15,138 in our German list, against #37,628 for "krapfen". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

Done with this confusable. These links stay specific to "krapfen" and "kratzen".

  • Full dictionary entry for "krapfen" 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 #1,084,062 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "krapfen" and "kratzen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "krapfen vs puzzles". 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 #1,084,062 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