Which to use
“kreise” is a verb and “Kreisel” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #5,508
- “kreise” frequency rank
- #26,939
- “Kreisel” frequency rank
- 32447
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | kreise | Kreisel |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs kreisen | ein kleines Kinderspielzeug, das sich auf einer Spitze im Kreis dreht, wenn man es mit dem entsprechenden Schwung versieht |
Where the eye mixes kreise and Kreisel
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses kreise with Kreisel
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: kreise is [ˈkʁaɪ̯zə] while Kreisel is [ˈkʁaɪ̯zl̩]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 extra letter(s) - “kreise” sits inside “Kreisel”, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 32447, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
kreise is recorded at frequency rank #5,508, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈkʁaɪ̯zə]. 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 32447, this pair ranks #1,707,361 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of kreise vs Kreisel
Shared letters: eikrs. Private to "kreise": -. Private to "Kreisel": l.
"kreise" · 6 letters · shape CCVVCV · "Kreisel" · 7 letters · shape CCVVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "kreise" for "Kreisel" ever safe?
Frequency check: "kreise" vs "Kreisel" - which ranks higher?
What to do next
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "kreise" 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 #1,707,361 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "kreise" 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 #1,707,361 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.