Which to use
“echt” is an adjective and “erst” is an adverb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #394
- “echt” frequency rank
- #159
- “erst” frequency rank
- 553
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | echt | erst |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | unverfälscht | zuvor, vorher |
Where the eye mixes echt and erst
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: echt is [ɛçt] while erst is [eːɐ̯st]. 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 (adjective vs adverb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 553, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
echt is recorded at frequency rank #394, classified as anadj, pronounced [ɛçt]. erst is at rank #159, tagged as anadv, pronounced [eːɐ̯st].
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 553, this pair ranks #2,005,697 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of echt vs erst
Shared letters: et. Private to "echt": ch. Private to "erst": rs.
"echt" · 4 letters · shape VCCC · "erst" · 4 letters · shape VCCC