KrötevsKrötenWhat's the difference?

Which to use

“Kröte” and “Kröten” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#33,158
“Kröte” frequency rank
#29,203
“Kröten” frequency rank
62361
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Kröte Kröten
Definition dem Frosch ähnliche, kurzbeinige, springende Amphibie mit plumpem Körper und warzenbedeckter, Giftstoffe absondernder Haut Nominativ Plural des Substantivs Kröte

Where the eye mixes Kröte and Kröten

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. Kröte runs 5 letters (CCVCV) against Kröten's 6 (CCVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

5 ch
Kröte
6 ch
Kröten

Visual trap between Kröte and Kröten

A purely visual mix-up. Kröte ([ˈkʁøːtə]) and Kröten ([ˈkʁøːtn̩]) 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 extra letter(s) - “Kröte” sits inside “Kröten”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 62361, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Kröte is recorded at frequency rank #33,158, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈkʁøːtə]. Kröten is at rank #29,203, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈkʁøːtn̩].

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 62361, this pair ranks #715,708 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of Kröte vs Kröten

Shared letters: ekrtö. Private to "Kröte": -. Private to "Kröten": n.

"Kröte" · 5 letters · shape CCVCV  ·  "Kröten" · 6 letters · shape CCVCVC

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "Kröte" for "Kröten" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([ˈkʁøːtə] versus [ˈkʁøːtn̩]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
In ordinary German text, does "Kröte" or "Kröten" show up more?
"Kröten" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #29,203 in our German list, against #33,158 for "Kröte". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.

  • Full dictionary entry for "Kröte" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Kröten" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #715,708 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Kröte" and "Kröten" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "krönt vs Kröte". Nearby pair

Confusion rank #715,708 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list