entstelltvserstelltTell them apart

Quick tell: entstellt is a adjective, erstellt is a verb, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

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

#41,780
“entstellt” frequency rank
#2,542
“erstellt” frequency rank
44322
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature entstellt erstellt
Definition die Gestalt (meist negativ) stark verändert Partizip Perfekt des Verbs erstellen

Where the eye mixes entstellt and erstellt

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence. entstellt runs 9 letters (VCCCCVCCC) against erstellt's 8 (VCCCVCCC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

9 ch
entstellt
8 ch
erstellt

Why the eye confuses entstellt with erstellt

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: entstellt is [ɛntˈʃtɛlt] while erstellt is [ɛɐ̯ˈʃtɛlt]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (adjective vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 44322, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

entstellt is recorded at frequency rank #41,780, classified as anadj, pronounced [ɛntˈʃtɛlt]. erstellt is at rank #2,542, tagged as averb, pronounced [ɛɐ̯ˈʃtɛlt].

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 44322, this pair ranks #1,389,980 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of entstellt vs erstellt

Shared letters: elst. Private to "entstellt": n. Private to "erstellt": r.

"entstellt" · 9 letters · shape VCCCCVCCC  ·  "erstellt" · 8 letters · shape VCCCVCCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • entstellt ← enntstellt · ensttellt · entsetllt · entsstellt · entstelltt · entstelt · entsteltl · entstlelt
  • erstellt ← errstellt · ersetllt · ersstellt · erstelltt · erstelt · ersteltl · erstlelt · ersttellt

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "entstellt" and "erstellt" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "entstellt" is an adjective and "erstellt" a verb, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Frequency check: "entstellt" vs "erstellt" - which ranks higher?
"erstellt" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #2,542 in our German list, against #41,780 for "entstellt". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

Useful next steps

Eye-level mix-up between "entstellt" and "erstellt" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.

  • Full dictionary entry for "entstellt" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "erstellt" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,389,980 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "entstellt" and "erstellt" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "einstellt vs entstellt". 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 #1,389,980 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