Which to use
“ergo” and “erst” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #12,900
- “ergo” frequency rank
- #159
- “erst” frequency rank
- 13059
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | ergo | erst |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | eine Schlussfolgerung einleitendes Wort | zuvor, vorher |
Where the eye mixes ergo and erst
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: ergo vs erst
A purely visual mix-up. ergo ([ˈɛʁɡo]) and erst ([eːɐ̯st]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 13059, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
ergo is recorded at frequency rank #12,900, classified as anadv, pronounced [ˈɛʁɡo]. 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 13059, this pair ranks #1,960,371 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of ergo vs erst
Shared letters: er. Private to "ergo": go. Private to "erst": st.
"ergo" · 4 letters · shape VCCV · "erst" · 4 letters · shape VCCC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "ergo" for "erst" ever safe?
Which is more common, "ergo" or "erst"?
What to do next
Eye-level mix-up between "ergo" and "erst" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "ergo" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "erst" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,960,371 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "ergo" and "erst" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "ergo vs Erle". 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 #1,960,371 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.