Which to use
“kratz” is a verb and “Kratzer” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #39,484
- “kratz” frequency rank
- #14,110
- “Kratzer” frequency rank
- 53594
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | kratz | Kratzer |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | 2. Person Singular Imperativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs kratzen | kleine bis mittelgroße Wunde oder Beschädigung, die durch bewegte Berührung mit einem spitzen Gegenstand hervorgerufen wurde |
Where the eye mixes kratz and Kratzer
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. kratz runs 5 letters (CCVCC) against Kratzer's 7 (CCVCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Visual trap between kratz and Kratzer
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: kratz is [kʁat͡s] while Kratzer is [ˈkʁat͡sɐ]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 2 extra letter(s) - “kratz” sits inside “Kratzer”, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 53594, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
kratz is recorded at frequency rank #39,484, classified as averb, pronounced [kʁat͡s]. 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 53594, this pair ranks #1,051,882 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of kratz vs Kratzer
Shared letters: akrtz. Private to "kratz": -. Private to "Kratzer": e.
"kratz" · 5 letters · shape CCVCC · "Kratzer" · 7 letters · shape CCVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "kratz" for "Kratzer" ever safe?
Frequency check: "kratz" vs "Kratzer" - which ranks higher?
What to do next
Eye-level mix-up between "kratz" and "Kratzer" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "kratz" 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 #1,051,882 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "kratz" and "Kratzer" 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 #1,051,882 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.