kratzenvsKrötenWhat's the difference?

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

Which to use

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

#15,138
“kratzen” frequency rank
#29,203
“Kröten” frequency rank
44341
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature kratzen Kröten
Definition sich mit den Fingernägeln, Krallen oder ähnlichen spitzen, scharfen Dingen, die dazu geeignet sind, einen Abrieb zu verursachen, schaben Nominativ Plural des Substantivs Kröte

Where the eye mixes kratzen and Kröten

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. kratzen runs 7 letters (CCVCCVC) against Kröten's 6 (CCVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

7 ch
kratzen
6 ch
Kröten

Look-alike desk: kratzen vs Kröten

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: kratzen is [ˈkʁat͡sn̩] while Kröten is [ˈkʁøːtn̩]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 44341, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

kratzen is recorded at frequency rank #15,138, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈkʁat͡sn̩]. Kröten is at rank #29,203, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈkʁøːtn̩].

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 44341, this pair ranks #1,389,342 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of kratzen vs Kröten

Shared letters: eknrt. Private to "kratzen": az. Private to "Kröten": ö.

"kratzen" · 7 letters · shape CCVCCVC  ·  "Kröten" · 6 letters · shape CCVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • kratzen ← kartzen · kkratzen · kratezn · krattzen · kratzenn · kratzne · kratzzen · krazten

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "kratzen" and "Kröten" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "kratzen" is a verb and "Kröten" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "kratzen" or "Kröten"?
"kratzen" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #15,138 in our German list, against #29,203 for "Kröten". 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 "kratzen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Kröten" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,389,342 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "kratzen" and "Kröten" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Kroate vs Kröten". 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 #1,389,342 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