Which to use
“ärgern” and “ärgert” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #8,316
- “ärgern” frequency rank
- #10,786
- “ärgert” frequency rank
- 19102
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | ärgern | ärgert |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | (jemanden) necken, Ärger verursachen | 3. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs ärgern |
Where the eye mixes ärgern and ärgert
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. ärgern and ärgert follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (VCCVCC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.
Why the eye confuses ärgern with ärgert
A purely visual mix-up. ärgern ([ˈɛʁɡɐn]) and ärgert ([ˈɛʁɡɐt]) 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 a single letter - n in “ärgern” becomes t in “ärgert”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 19102, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
ärgern is recorded at frequency rank #8,316, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈɛʁɡɐn]. ärgert is at rank #10,786, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈɛʁɡɐt].
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 19102, this pair ranks #1,911,816 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of ärgern vs ärgert
Shared letters: egrä. Private to "ärgern": n. Private to "ärgert": t.
"ärgern" · 6 letters · shape VCCVCC · "ärgert" · 6 letters · shape VCCVCC
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "ärgern" and "ärgert" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Which is more common, "ärgern" or "ärgert"?
Useful next steps
Eye-level mix-up between "ärgern" and "ärgert" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "ärgern" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "ärgert" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,911,816 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "ärgern" and "ärgert" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "ärgert vs ärmere". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #1,911,816 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.