Which to use
“Kreis” and “Kreisel” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #861
- “Kreis” frequency rank
- #26,939
- “Kreisel” frequency rank
- 27800
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | Kreis | Kreisel |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | geometrischer Ort aller Punkte, die von einem gegebenen Punkt, dem (Kreis-)Mittelpunkt, den gleichen Abstand haben, genannt (Kreis-)Radius | ein kleines Kinderspielzeug, das sich auf einer Spitze im Kreis dreht, wenn man es mit dem entsprechenden Schwung versieht |
Where the eye mixes Kreis and Kreisel
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. Kreis runs 5 letters (CCVVC) against Kreisel's 7 (CCVVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses Kreis with Kreisel
A purely visual mix-up. Kreis ([kʁaɪ̯s]) and Kreisel ([ˈkʁaɪ̯zl̩]) 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 2 extra letter(s) - “Kreis” sits inside “Kreisel”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 27800, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
Kreis is recorded at frequency rank #861, classified as anoun, pronounced [kʁaɪ̯s]. Kreisel is at rank #26,939, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈkʁaɪ̯zl̩].
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 27800, this pair ranks #1,795,660 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of Kreis vs Kreisel
Shared letters: eikrs. Private to "Kreis": -. Private to "Kreisel": l.
"Kreis" · 5 letters · shape CCVVC · "Kreisel" · 7 letters · shape CCVVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "Kreis" for "Kreisel" ever safe?
Frequency check: "Kreis" vs "Kreisel" - which ranks higher?
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 "Kreis" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "Kreisel" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,795,660 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "Kreis" and "Kreisel" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Krebse vs Kreisel". 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 #1,795,660 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.