erpressenvserpresstTell them apart

Which to use

“erpressen” and “erpresst” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#21,591
“erpressen” frequency rank
#20,904
“erpresst” frequency rank
42495
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature erpressen erpresst
Definition jemanden durch Drohungen oder Gewalt zu etwas zwingen 2. Person Plural Imperativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs erpressen

Where the eye mixes erpressen and erpresst

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence. erpressen runs 9 letters (VCCCVCCVC) against erpresst's 8 (VCCCVCCC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

9 ch
erpressen
8 ch
erpresst

Why the eye confuses erpressen with erpresst

A purely visual mix-up. erpressen ([ɛɐ̯ˈpʁɛsn̩]) and erpresst ([ɛɐ̯ˈpʁɛst]) 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 42495, 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]. erpresst is at rank #20,904, tagged as averb, pronounced [ɛɐ̯ˈpʁɛst].

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 42495, this pair ranks #1,447,542 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of erpressen vs erpresst

Shared letters: eprs. Private to "erpressen": n. Private to "erpresst": t.

"erpressen" · 9 letters · shape VCCCVCCVC  ·  "erpresst" · 8 letters · shape VCCCVCCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • erpresseneprressen · erperssen · erppressen · erpresen · erpresesn · erpressenn · erpressne · erpreßen
  • erpressteprresst · erpersst · erppresst · erpresstt · erprest · erprests · erpreßt · erprresst

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "erpressen" and "erpresst" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([ɛɐ̯ˈpʁɛsn̩] versus [ɛɐ̯ˈpʁɛst]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "erpressen" or "erpresst"?
"erpresst" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #20,904 in our German list, against #21,591 for "erpressen". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

Eye-level mix-up between "erpressen" and "erpresst" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.

  • Full dictionary entry for "erpressen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "erpresst" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,447,542 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "erpressen" and "erpresst" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "erpressen vs Erpresser". 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 #1,447,542 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list