Which to use
“kriechen” is a verb and “Kriegen” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #18,960
- “kriechen” frequency rank
- #1,928
- “Kriegen” frequency rank
- 20888
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | kriechen | Kriegen |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | sich mit dem Bauch am Boden/in Bodennähe fortbewegen | ein Kinderspiel, bei dem der Fänger andere Mitspieler durch eine Berührung fassen muss |
Where the eye mixes kriechen and Kriegen
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. kriechen runs 8 letters (CCVVCCVC) against Kriegen's 7 (CCVVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Visual trap between kriechen and Kriegen
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: kriechen is [ˈkʁiːçn̩] while Kriegen is [ˈkʁiːɡn̩]. 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 (verb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 20888, 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]. Kriegen is at rank #1,928, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈkʁiːɡn̩].
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 20888, this pair ranks #1,892,602 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of kriechen vs Kriegen
Shared letters: eiknr. Private to "kriechen": ch. Private to "Kriegen": g.
"kriechen" · 8 letters · shape CCVVCCVC · "Kriegen" · 7 letters · shape CCVVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "kriechen" for "Kriegen" ever safe?
In ordinary German text, does "kriechen" or "Kriegen" show up more?
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 "Kriegen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,892,602 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "kriechen" and "Kriegen" 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 #1,892,602 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.