erspartvserstarrtConfusable pair

Which to use

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

#8,857
“erspart” frequency rank
#37,502
“erstarrt” frequency rank
46359
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature erspart erstarrt
Definition Partizip Perfekt des Verbs ersparen Partizip Perfekt des Verbs erstarren

Where the eye mixes erspart and erstarrt

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence.

7 ch
erspart
8 ch
erstarrt

Visual trap between erspart and erstarrt

A purely visual mix-up. erspart ([ɛɐ̯ˈʃpaːɐ̯t]) and erstarrt ([ɛɐ̯ˈʃtaʁt]) 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 46359, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

erspart is recorded at frequency rank #8,857, classified as averb, pronounced [ɛɐ̯ˈʃpaːɐ̯t]. erstarrt is at rank #37,502, tagged as averb, pronounced [ɛɐ̯ˈʃtaʁt].

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 46359, this pair ranks #1,321,763 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of erspart vs erstarrt

Shared letters: aerst. Private to "erspart": p. Private to "erstarrt": -.

"erspart" · 7 letters · shape VCCCVCC  ·  "erstarrt" · 8 letters · shape VCCCVCCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • ersparterpsart · errspart · ersaprt · ersparrt · erspartt · erspatr · ersppart · ersprat
  • erstarrterrstarrt · ersatrrt · ersstarrt · erstarrtt · erstart · erstartr · erstrart · ersttarrt

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "erspart" for "erstarrt" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([ɛɐ̯ˈʃpaːɐ̯t] versus [ɛɐ̯ˈʃtaʁt]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "erspart" vs "erstarrt" - which ranks higher?
"erspart" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #8,857 in our German list, against #37,502 for "erstarrt". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

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 "erspart" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "erstarrt" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,321,763 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "erspart" and "erstarrt" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "erstarren vs erstarrt". 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 #1,321,763 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