Which to use
“Krebs” is a noun and “kreise” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #3,598
- “Krebs” frequency rank
- #5,508
- “kreise” frequency rank
- 9106
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | Krebs | kreise |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | ein Tier des Stamms Krebstiere (Crustacea), umgangssprachlich meist nur ein Tier der Klasse Höhere Krebse (Malacostraca) | 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs kreisen |
Where the eye mixes Krebs and kreise
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. Krebs runs 5 letters (CCVCC) against kreise's 6 (CCVVCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Look-alike desk: Krebs vs kreise
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: Krebs is [kʁeːps] while kreise is [ˈkʁaɪ̯zə]. 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 (noun vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 9106, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
Krebs is recorded at frequency rank #3,598, classified as anoun, pronounced [kʁeːps]. kreise is at rank #5,508, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈkʁaɪ̯zə].
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 9106, this pair ranks #1,981,447 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of Krebs vs kreise
Shared letters: ekrs. Private to "Krebs": b. Private to "kreise": i.
"Krebs" · 5 letters · shape CCVCC · "kreise" · 6 letters · shape CCVVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "Krebs" for "kreise" ever safe?
Which is more common, "Krebs" or "kreise"?
After this comparison
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "Krebs" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "kreise" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,981,447 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "Krebs" and "kreise" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Krebse vs kreise". 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 #1,981,447 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.