ersetzevsersetztTell them apart

Which to use

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

#38,088
“ersetze” frequency rank
#2,336
“ersetzt” frequency rank
40424
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature ersetze ersetzt
Definition 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs ersetzen Partizip Perfekt des Verbs ersetzen

Where the eye mixes ersetze and ersetzt

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. ersetze (VCCVCCV) and ersetzt (VCCVCCC) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.

7 ch
ersetze
7 ch
ersetzt

Why the eye confuses ersetze with ersetzt

A purely visual mix-up. ersetze ([ɛɐ̯ˈzɛt͡sə]) and ersetzt ([ɛɐ̯ˈzɛt͡st]) 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 a single letter - e in “ersetze” becomes t in “ersetzt”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 40424, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

ersetze is recorded at frequency rank #38,088, classified as averb, pronounced [ɛɐ̯ˈzɛt͡sə]. ersetzt is at rank #2,336, tagged as averb, pronounced [ɛɐ̯ˈzɛt͡st].

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 40424, this pair ranks #1,508,904 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of ersetze vs ersetzt

Shared letters: erstz. Private to "ersetze": -. Private to "ersetzt": -.

"ersetze" · 7 letters · shape VCCVCCV  ·  "ersetzt" · 7 letters · shape VCCVCCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • ersetze ← erestze · errsetze · ersetez · ersetzze · ersezte · erssetze · ersteze · esretze
  • ersetzt ← erestzt · errsetzt · ersettz · ersettzt · ersetztt · ersetzzt · erseztt · erssetzt

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "ersetze" and "ersetzt" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ɛɐ̯ˈzɛt͡sə] versus [ɛɐ̯ˈzɛt͡st]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "ersetze" vs "ersetzt" - which ranks higher?
"ersetzt" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #2,336 in our German list, against #38,088 for "ersetze". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

Useful next steps

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

  • Full dictionary entry for "ersetze" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "ersetzt" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,508,904 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "ersetze" and "ersetzt" 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 #1,508,904 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