YCrGeO5 crystallizes in the orthorhombic Pbam space group. Y(1) is bonded in a 8-coordinate geometry to two equivalent O(3), two equivalent O(4), and four equivalent O(1) atoms. Cr(1) is bonded to two equivalent O(1), two equivalent O(2), and two equivalent O(3) atoms to form CrO6 octahedra that share corners with four equivalent Ge(1)O5 square pyramids and edges with two equivalent Cr(1)O6 octahedra. Ge(1) is bonded to one O(2), two equivalent O(1), and two equivalent O(4) atoms to form distorted GeO5 square pyramids that share corners with four equivalent Cr(1)O6 octahedra and  an edgeedge with one Ge(1)O5 square pyramid. The corner-sharing octahedral tilt angles range from 48-54°. There are four inequivalent O sites. In the first O site, O(1) is bonded in a 4-coordinate geometry to two equivalent Y(1), one Cr(1), and one Ge(1) atom. In the second O site, O(2) is bonded in a distorted T-shaped geometry to two equivalent Cr(1) and one Ge(1) atom. In the third O site, O(3) is bonded to two equivalent Y(1) and two equivalent Cr(1) atoms to form distorted OY2Cr2 trigonal pyramids that share corners with four equivalent O(4)Y2Ge2 tetrahedra, corners with two equivalent O(3)Y2Cr2 trigonal pyramids, and  an edgeedge with one O(3)Y2Cr2 trigonal pyramid. In the fourth O site, O(4) is bonded to two equivalent Y(1) and two equivalent Ge(1) atoms to form distorted OY2Ge2 tetrahedra that share corners with four equivalent O(3)Y2Cr2 trigonal pyramids and edges with two equivalent O(4)Y2Ge2 tetrahedra.
YCrGeO5 crystallizes in the orthorhombic Pbam space group. Y(1) is bonded in a 8-coordinate geometry to two equivalent O(3), two equivalent O(4), and four equivalent O(1) atoms. There is one shorter (2.29 Å) and one longer (2.41 Å) Y(1)-O(3) bond length. Both Y(1)-O(4) bond lengths are 2.47 Å. There are two shorter (2.37 Å) and two longer (2.56 Å) Y(1)-O(1) bond lengths. Cr(1) is bonded to two equivalent O(1), two equivalent O(2), and two equivalent O(3) atoms to form CrO6 octahedra that share corners with four equivalent Ge(1)O5 square pyramids and edges with two equivalent Cr(1)O6 octahedra. Both Cr(1)-O(1) bond lengths are 2.02 Å. Both Cr(1)-O(2) bond lengths are 1.99 Å. Both Cr(1)-O(3) bond lengths are 1.98 Å. Ge(1) is bonded to one O(2), two equivalent O(1), and two equivalent O(4) atoms to form distorted GeO5 square pyramids that share corners with four equivalent Cr(1)O6 octahedra and  an edgeedge with one Ge(1)O5 square pyramid. The corner-sharing octahedral tilt angles range from 48-54°. The Ge(1)-O(2) bond length is 1.76 Å. Both Ge(1)-O(1) bond lengths are 1.86 Å. Both Ge(1)-O(4) bond lengths are 1.94 Å. There are four inequivalent O sites. In the first O site, O(1) is bonded in a 4-coordinate geometry to two equivalent Y(1), one Cr(1), and one Ge(1) atom. In the second O site, O(2) is bonded in a distorted T-shaped geometry to two equivalent Cr(1) and one Ge(1) atom. In the third O site, O(3) is bonded to two equivalent Y(1) and two equivalent Cr(1) atoms to form distorted OY2Cr2 trigonal pyramids that share corners with four equivalent O(4)Y2Ge2 tetrahedra, corners with two equivalent O(3)Y2Cr2 trigonal pyramids, and  an edgeedge with one O(3)Y2Cr2 trigonal pyramid. In the fourth O site, O(4) is bonded to two equivalent Y(1) and two equivalent Ge(1) atoms to form distorted OY2Ge2 tetrahedra that share corners with four equivalent O(3)Y2Cr2 trigonal pyramids and edges with two equivalent O(4)Y2Ge2 tetrahedra.