Which to use
“Ernst” is a noun and “esst” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #531
- “Ernst” frequency rank
- #29,114
- “esst” frequency rank
- 29645
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | Ernst | esst |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | scherzlose, überlegte und entschiedene Gesinnung; sachlich, aufrichtige Haltung | 2. Person Plural Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs essen |
Where the eye mixes Ernst and esst
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: Ernst vs esst
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: Ernst is [ɛʁnst] while esst is [ɛst]. 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 (noun vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 29645, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
Ernst is recorded at frequency rank #531, classified as anoun, pronounced [ɛʁnst]. esst is at rank #29,114, tagged as averb, pronounced [ɛst].
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 29645, this pair ranks #1,762,978 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of Ernst vs esst
Shared letters: est. Private to "Ernst": nr. Private to "esst": -.
"Ernst" · 5 letters · shape VCCCC · "esst" · 4 letters · shape VCCC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "Ernst" and "esst" mean the same thing in a sentence?
In ordinary German text, does "Ernst" or "esst" 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 "Ernst" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "esst" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,762,978 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "Ernst" and "esst" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Esra vs esst". 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 #1,762,978 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.