Which to use
“ersetze” is a verb and “erste” is a num - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #38,088
- “ersetze” frequency rank
- #250
- “erste” frequency rank
- 38338
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | ersetze | erste |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs ersetzen | (zeitlich oder örtlich oder in einer anderen Reihenfolge) an vorderster Stelle sich befindend, dem zweiten vorangehend |
Where the eye mixes ersetze and erste
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. ersetze runs 7 letters (VCCVCCV) against erste's 5 (VCCCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses ersetze with erste
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: ersetze is [ɛɐ̯ˈzɛt͡sə] while erste is [ˈeːɐ̯stə]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 2 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs num), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 38338, 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]. erste is at rank #250, tagged as anum, pronounced [ˈeːɐ̯stə].
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 38338, this pair ranks #1,566,570 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of ersetze vs erste
Shared letters: erst. Private to "ersetze": z. Private to "erste": -.
"ersetze" · 7 letters · shape VCCVCCV · "erste" · 5 letters · shape VCCCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "ersetze" and "erste" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Which is more common, "ersetze" or "erste"?
What to do next
Eye-level mix-up between "ersetze" and "erste" 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 "erste" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,566,570 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "ersetze" and "erste" 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 #1,566,570 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.