ersehntenvsersetztenWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

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

#38,087
“ersehnten” frequency rank
#40,515
“ersetzten” frequency rank
78602
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature ersehnten ersetzten
Definition Genitiv Singular Maskulinum der starken Flexion des Positivs des Adjektivs ersehnt Genitiv Singular Maskulinum der starken Flexion des Positivs des Adjektivs ersetzt

Where the eye mixes ersehnten and ersetzten

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence. ersehnten and ersetzten follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (VCCVCCCVC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.

9 ch
ersehnten
9 ch
ersetzten

Visual trap between ersehnten and ersetzten

A purely visual mix-up. ersehnten ([ɛɐ̯ˈzeːntn̩]) and ersetzten ([ɛɐ̯ˈzɛt͡stn̩]) 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 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 78602, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

ersehnten is recorded at frequency rank #38,087, classified as anadj, pronounced [ɛɐ̯ˈzeːntn̩]. ersetzten is at rank #40,515, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ɛɐ̯ˈzɛt͡stn̩].

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 78602, this pair ranks #234,626 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of ersehnten vs ersetzten

Shared letters: enrst. Private to "ersehnten": h. Private to "ersetzten": z.

"ersehnten" · 9 letters · shape VCCVCCCVC  ·  "ersetzten" · 9 letters · shape VCCVCCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • ersehnten ← ereshnten · errsehnten · ersehhnten · ersehnetn · ersehnnten · ersehntenn · ersehntne · ersehntten
  • ersetzten ← erestzten · errsetzten · ersettzten · ersetzetn · ersetztenn · ersetztne · ersetztten · ersetzzten

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "ersehnten" and "ersetzten" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ɛɐ̯ˈzeːntn̩] versus [ɛɐ̯ˈzɛt͡stn̩]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
In ordinary German text, does "ersehnten" or "ersetzten" show up more?
"ersehnten" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #38,087 in our German list, against #40,515 for "ersetzten". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.

  • Full dictionary entry for "ersehnten" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "ersetzten" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #234,626 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "ersehnten" and "ersetzten" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "ersetze vs ersetzten". 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 #234,626 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