KräutervsKräuternWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#12,329
“Kräuter” frequency rank
#27,816
“Kräutern” frequency rank
40145
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Kräuter Kräutern
Definition Nominativ Plural des Substantivs Kraut Dativ Plural des Substantivs Kraut

Where the eye mixes Kräuter and Kräutern

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence. Kräuter runs 7 letters (CCVVCVC) against Kräutern's 8 (CCVVCVCC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

7 ch
Kräuter
8 ch
Kräutern

Visual trap between Kräuter and Kräutern

A purely visual mix-up. Kräuter ([ˈkʁɔɪ̯tɐ]) and Kräutern ([ˈkʁɔɪ̯tɐn]) 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 extra letter(s) - “Kräuter” sits inside “Kräutern”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 40145, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Kräuter is recorded at frequency rank #12,329, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈkʁɔɪ̯tɐ]. Kräutern is at rank #27,816, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈkʁɔɪ̯tɐn].

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 40145, this pair ranks #1,516,827 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of Kräuter vs Kräutern

Shared letters: ekrtuä. Private to "Kräuter": -. Private to "Kräutern": n.

"Kräuter" · 7 letters · shape CCVVCVC  ·  "Kräutern" · 8 letters · shape CCVVCVCC

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "Kräuter" for "Kräutern" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([ˈkʁɔɪ̯tɐ] versus [ˈkʁɔɪ̯tɐn]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
In ordinary German text, does "Kräuter" or "Kräutern" show up more?
"Kräuter" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #12,329 in our German list, against #27,816 for "Kräutern". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.

  • Full dictionary entry for "Kräuter" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Kräutern" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,516,827 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Kräuter" and "Kräutern" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Käufern vs Kräutern". Nearby pair

Confusion rank #1,516,827 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