Which to use
“ernten” is a verb and “ersten” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #12,066
- “ernten” frequency rank
- #160
- “ersten” frequency rank
- 12226
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | ernten | ersten |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Nutzpflanzen von den Feldern einholen | Genitiv Singular Maskulinum der starken Flexion des Positivs des Adjektivs erste |
Where the eye mixes ernten and ersten
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence.
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: ernten is [ˈɛʁntn̩] while ersten is [ˈeːɐ̯stn̩]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by a single letter - n in “ernten” becomes s in “ersten”, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 12226, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
ernten is recorded at frequency rank #12,066, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈɛʁntn̩]. ersten is at rank #160, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ˈeːɐ̯stn̩].
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 12226, this pair ranks #1,965,452 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of ernten vs ersten
Shared letters: enrt. Private to "ernten": -. Private to "ersten": s.
"ernten" · 6 letters · shape VCCCVC · "ersten" · 6 letters · shape VCCCVC