Which to use
“engsten” and “ersten” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #16,977
- “engsten” frequency rank
- #160
- “ersten” frequency rank
- 17137
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | engsten | ersten |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Genitiv Singular Maskulinum der starken Flexion des Superlativs des Adjektivs eng | Genitiv Singular Maskulinum der starken Flexion des Positivs des Adjektivs erste |
Where the eye mixes engsten and ersten
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses engsten with ersten
A purely visual mix-up. engsten ([ˈɛŋstn̩]) and ersten ([ˈeːɐ̯stn̩]) 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 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 17137, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
engsten is recorded at frequency rank #16,977, classified as anadj, pronounced [ˈɛŋstn̩]. ersten is at rank #160, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ˈeːɐ̯stn̩].
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 17137, this pair ranks #1,930,041 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of engsten vs ersten
Shared letters: enst. Private to "engsten": g. Private to "ersten": r.
"engsten" · 7 letters · shape VCCCCVC · "ersten" · 6 letters · shape VCCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "engsten" and "ersten" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Which is more common, "engsten" or "ersten"?
Useful next steps
Eye-level mix-up between "engsten" and "ersten" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "engsten" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "ersten" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,930,041 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "engsten" and "ersten" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "engstem vs engsten". Nearby pair
- Recorded mistypes exist for at least one side of this pair, useful when a spell-checker or OCR lands on the wrong form. See mistypes
Confusion rank #1,930,041 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.