entsprachenvsentsprecheWhat's the difference?

Which to use

“entsprachen” and “entspreche” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#25,985
“entsprachen” frequency rank
#31,526
“entspreche” frequency rank
57511
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature entsprachen entspreche
Definition 1. Person Plural Indikativ Präteritum des Verbs entsprechen 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs entsprechen

Where the eye mixes entsprachen and entspreche

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 9 letters in sequence. entsprachen runs 11 letters (VCCCCCVCCVC) against entspreche's 10 (VCCCCCVCCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

11 ch
entsprachen
10 ch
entspreche

Why the eye confuses entsprachen with entspreche

A purely visual mix-up. entsprachen ([ɛntˈʃpʁaːxn̩]) and entspreche ([ɛntˈʃpʁɛçə]) 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 57511, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

entsprachen is recorded at frequency rank #25,985, classified as averb, pronounced [ɛntˈʃpʁaːxn̩]. entspreche is at rank #31,526, tagged as averb, pronounced [ɛntˈʃpʁɛçə].

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 57511, this pair ranks #898,571 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of entsprachen vs entspreche

Shared letters: cehnprst. Private to "entsprachen": a. Private to "entspreche": -.

"entsprachen" · 11 letters · shape VCCCCCVCCVC  ·  "entspreche" · 10 letters · shape VCCCCCVCCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • entsprachen ← enntsprachen · enstprachen · entpsrachen · entsparchen · entspprachen · entspracchen · entspracehn · entsprachenn
  • entspreche ← enntspreche · enstpreche · entpsreche · entsperche · entsppreche · entsprcehe · entsprecche · entspreceh

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "entsprachen" for "entspreche" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([ɛntˈʃpʁaːxn̩] versus [ɛntˈʃpʁɛçə]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "entsprachen" vs "entspreche" - which ranks higher?
"entsprachen" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #25,985 in our German list, against #31,526 for "entspreche". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

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

  • Full dictionary entry for "entsprachen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "entspreche" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #898,571 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "entsprachen" and "entspreche" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "entspräche vs entspreche". 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 #898,571 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