Which to use
“erklären” and “ersparen” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #925
- “erklären” frequency rank
- #11,864
- “ersparen” frequency rank
- 12789
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | erklären | ersparen |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | jemandem etwas lehrend beschreiben, erläutern, verlautbaren; auf eine Ursache zurückführen | Geld, oder auch etwas anderes, nicht ausgeben und verwenden, sondern ansammeln (sparen); von diesem angesammelten Geld etwas erwerben |
Where the eye mixes erklären and ersparen
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. erklären and ersparen follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (VCCCVCVC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.
Why the eye confuses erklären with ersparen
A purely visual mix-up. erklären ([ɛɐ̯ˈklɛːʁən]) and ersparen ([ɛɐ̯ˈʃpaːʁən]) 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 3 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 12789, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
erklären is recorded at frequency rank #925, classified as averb, pronounced [ɛɐ̯ˈklɛːʁən]. ersparen is at rank #11,864, tagged as averb, pronounced [ɛɐ̯ˈʃpaːʁən].
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 12789, this pair ranks #1,962,039 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of erklären vs ersparen
Shared letters: enr. Private to "erklären": klä. Private to "ersparen": aps.
"erklären" · 8 letters · shape VCCCVCVC · "ersparen" · 8 letters · shape VCCCVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- ersparen ← erpsaren · errsparen · ersapren · erspaern · ersparenn · ersparne · ersparren · erspparen
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "erklären" for "ersparen" ever safe?
Which is more common, "erklären" or "ersparen"?
What to do next
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "erklären" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "ersparen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,962,039 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "erklären" and "ersparen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "ersparen vs erstarren". 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 #1,962,039 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.