Which to use
“erpressen” is a verb and “Erpresser” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #21,591
- “erpressen” frequency rank
- #38,722
- “Erpresser” frequency rank
- 60313
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | erpressen | Erpresser |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | jemanden durch Drohungen oder Gewalt zu etwas zwingen | Person, die andere unter Druck setzt und sie zu etwas zwingt |
Where the eye mixes erpressen and Erpresser
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 8 letters in sequence. erpressen and Erpresser follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (VCCCVCCVC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.
Look-alike desk: erpressen vs Erpresser
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: erpressen is [ɛɐ̯ˈpʁɛsn̩] while Erpresser is [ɛɐ̯ˈpʁɛsɐ]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by a single letter - n in “erpressen” becomes r in “Erpresser”, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 60313, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
erpressen is recorded at frequency rank #21,591, classified as averb, pronounced [ɛɐ̯ˈpʁɛsn̩]. Erpresser is at rank #38,722, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ɛɐ̯ˈpʁɛsɐ].
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 60313, this pair ranks #791,658 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of erpressen vs Erpresser
Shared letters: eprs. Private to "erpressen": n. Private to "Erpresser": -.
"erpressen" · 9 letters · shape VCCCVCCVC · "Erpresser" · 9 letters · shape VCCCVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "erpressen" for "Erpresser" ever safe?
Which is more common, "erpressen" or "Erpresser"?
Useful next steps
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "erpressen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "Erpresser" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #791,658 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "erpressen" and "Erpresser" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Erpresser vs erpresst". 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 #791,658 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.