Which to use
“kriechen” and “kriecht” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #18,960
- “kriechen” frequency rank
- #27,384
- “kriecht” frequency rank
- 46344
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | kriechen | kriecht |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | sich mit dem Bauch am Boden/in Bodennähe fortbewegen | 2. Person Plural Imperativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs kriechen |
Where the eye mixes kriechen and kriecht
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. kriechen runs 8 letters (CCVVCCVC) against kriecht's 7 (CCVVCCC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Visual trap between kriechen and kriecht
A purely visual mix-up. kriechen ([ˈkʁiːçn̩]) and kriecht ([kʁiːçt]) 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 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 46344, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
kriechen is recorded at frequency rank #18,960, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈkʁiːçn̩]. kriecht is at rank #27,384, tagged as averb, pronounced [kʁiːçt].
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 46344, this pair ranks #1,322,283 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of kriechen vs kriecht
Shared letters: cehikr. Private to "kriechen": n. Private to "kriecht": t.
"kriechen" · 8 letters · shape CCVVCCVC · "kriecht" · 7 letters · shape CCVVCCC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "kriechen" for "kriecht" ever safe?
Frequency check: "kriechen" vs "kriecht" - which ranks higher?
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 "kriechen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "kriecht" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,322,283 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "kriechen" and "kriecht" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "kreischen vs kriechen". 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 #1,322,283 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.