Which to use
“ergreifen” and “ergreift” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #8,552
- “ergreifen” frequency rank
- #17,873
- “ergreift” frequency rank
- 26425
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | ergreifen | ergreift |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | mit den Händen anfassen, festhalten, nach etwas greifen | 2. Person Plural Imperativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs ergreifen |
Where the eye mixes ergreifen and ergreift
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence. ergreifen runs 9 letters (VCCCVVCVC) against ergreift's 8 (VCCCVVCC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Look-alike desk: ergreifen vs ergreift
A purely visual mix-up. ergreifen ([ɛɐ̯ˈɡʁaɪ̯fn̩]) and ergreift ([ɛɐ̯ˈɡʁaɪ̯ft]) 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 26425, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
ergreifen is recorded at frequency rank #8,552, classified as averb, pronounced [ɛɐ̯ˈɡʁaɪ̯fn̩]. ergreift is at rank #17,873, tagged as averb, pronounced [ɛɐ̯ˈɡʁaɪ̯ft].
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 26425, this pair ranks #1,818,308 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of ergreifen vs ergreift
Shared letters: efgir. Private to "ergreifen": n. Private to "ergreift": t.
"ergreifen" · 9 letters · shape VCCCVVCVC · "ergreift" · 8 letters · shape VCCCVVCC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "ergreifen" and "ergreift" be used interchangeably?
In ordinary German text, does "ergreifen" or "ergreift" show up more?
What to do next
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "ergreifen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "ergreift" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,818,308 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "ergreifen" and "ergreift" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "ergreifen vs Ergreifung". 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 #1,818,308 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.