erstickenvsersticktWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

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

#15,348
“ersticken” frequency rank
#15,349
“erstickt” frequency rank
30697
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature ersticken erstickt
Definition durch fehlende Sauerstoffzufuhr sterben 3. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs ersticken

Where the eye mixes ersticken and erstickt

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

9 ch
ersticken
8 ch
erstickt

Look-alike desk: ersticken vs erstickt

A purely visual mix-up. ersticken ([ɛɐ̯ˈʃtɪkn̩]) and erstickt ([ɛɐ̯ˈʃtɪkt]) 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 30697, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

ersticken is recorded at frequency rank #15,348, classified as averb, pronounced [ɛɐ̯ˈʃtɪkn̩]. erstickt is at rank #15,349, tagged as averb, pronounced [ɛɐ̯ˈʃtɪkt].

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 30697, this pair ranks #1,742,816 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of ersticken vs erstickt

Shared letters: ceikrst. Private to "ersticken": n. Private to "erstickt": -.

"ersticken" · 9 letters · shape VCCCVCCVC  ·  "erstickt" · 8 letters · shape VCCCVCCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • ersticken ← errsticken · ersitcken · erssticken · erstciken · ersticcken · ersticekn · erstickenn · erstickken
  • erstickt ← errstickt · ersitckt · ersstickt · erstcikt · ersticckt · erstickkt · ersticktt · erstictk

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "ersticken" and "erstickt" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([ɛɐ̯ˈʃtɪkn̩] versus [ɛɐ̯ˈʃtɪkt]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "ersticken" vs "erstickt" - which ranks higher?
"ersticken" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #15,348 in our German list, against #15,349 for "erstickt". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

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

  • Full dictionary entry for "ersticken" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "erstickt" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,742,816 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "ersticken" and "erstickt" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "erstarken vs ersticken". 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 #1,742,816 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