ärgertvsärmereConfusable pair

Quick tell: ärgert is a verb, ärmere is an adjective, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“ärgert” is a verb and “ärmere” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#10,786
“ärgert” frequency rank
#48,660
“ärmere” frequency rank
59446
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature ärgert ärmere
Definition 3. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs ärgern Nominativ Singular Femininum der starken Deklination des Komparativs des Adjektivs arm

Where the eye mixes ärgert and ärmere

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. ärgert (VCCVCC) and ärmere (VCCVCV) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.

6 ch
ärgert
6 ch
ärmere

Why the eye confuses ärgert with ärmere

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: ärgert is [ˈɛʁɡɐt] while ärmere is [ˈɛʁməʁə]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 59446, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

ärgert is recorded at frequency rank #10,786, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈɛʁɡɐt]. ärmere is at rank #48,660, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ˈɛʁməʁə].

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 59446, this pair ranks #824,214 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of ärgert vs ärmere

Shared letters: erä. Private to "ärgert": gt. Private to "ärmere": m.

"ärgert" · 6 letters · shape VCCVCC  ·  "ärmere" · 6 letters · shape VCCVCV

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "ärgert" and "ärmere" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "ärgert" is a verb and "ärmere" an adjective, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
In ordinary German text, does "ärgert" or "ärmere" show up more?
"ärgert" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #10,786 in our German list, against #48,660 for "ärmere". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.

  • Full dictionary entry for "ärgert" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "ärmere" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #824,214 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "ärgert" and "ärmere" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "ärmere vs ärmste". Nearby pair

Confusion rank #824,214 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