KrätzevsKröteWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#44,028
“Krätze” frequency rank
#33,158
“Kröte” frequency rank
77186
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Krätze Kröte
Definition stark juckende Hautkrankheit, die durch sich in die Haut einbohrende Milben verursacht ist dem Frosch ähnliche, kurzbeinige, springende Amphibie mit plumpem Körper und warzenbedeckter, Giftstoffe absondernder Haut

Where the eye mixes Krätze and Kröte

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. Krätze runs 6 letters (CCVCCV) against Kröte's 5 (CCVCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

6 ch
Krätze
5 ch
Kröte

Why the eye confuses Krätze with Kröte

A purely visual mix-up. Krätze ([ˈkʁɛt͡sə]) and Kröte ([ˈkʁøːtə]) 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 77186, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Krätze is recorded at frequency rank #44,028, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈkʁɛt͡sə]. Kröte is at rank #33,158, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈkʁøːtə].

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 77186, this pair ranks #266,535 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of Krätze vs Kröte

Shared letters: ekrt. Private to "Krätze": zä. Private to "Kröte": ö.

"Krätze" · 6 letters · shape CCVCCV  ·  "Kröte" · 5 letters · shape CCVCV

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "Krätze" and "Kröte" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ˈkʁɛt͡sə] versus [ˈkʁøːtə]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "Krätze" or "Kröte"?
"Kröte" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #33,158 in our German list, against #44,028 for "Krätze". 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 "Krätze" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Kröte" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #266,535 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Krätze" and "Kröte" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Krätze vs Kroate". Nearby pair

Confusion rank #266,535 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