Which to use
“ersticken” and “erstrecken” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #15,348
- “ersticken” frequency rank
- #19,561
- “erstrecken” frequency rank
- 34909
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | ersticken | erstrecken |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | durch fehlende Sauerstoffzufuhr sterben | eine bestimmte räumliche Ausdehnung haben |
Where the eye mixes ersticken and erstrecken
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 8 letters in sequence. ersticken runs 9 letters (VCCCVCCVC) against erstrecken's 10 (VCCCCVCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Look-alike desk: ersticken vs erstrecken
A purely visual mix-up. ersticken ([ɛɐ̯ˈʃtɪkn̩]) and erstrecken ([ɛɐ̯ˈʃtʁɛkn̩]) 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 34909, 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]. erstrecken is at rank #19,561, tagged as averb, pronounced [ɛɐ̯ˈʃtʁɛkn̩].
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 34909, this pair ranks #1,652,488 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of ersticken vs erstrecken
Shared letters: ceknrst. Private to "ersticken": i. Private to "erstrecken": -.
"ersticken" · 9 letters · shape VCCCVCCVC · "erstrecken" · 10 letters · shape VCCCCVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- ersticken ← errsticken · ersitcken · erssticken · erstciken · ersticcken · ersticekn · erstickenn · erstickken
- erstrecken ← errstrecken · ersrtecken · ersstrecken · erstercken · erstrceken · erstreccken · erstrecekn · erstreckenn
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "ersticken" for "erstrecken" ever safe?
In ordinary German text, does "ersticken" or "erstrecken" show up more?
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 "ersticken" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "erstrecken" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,652,488 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "ersticken" and "erstrecken" 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 #1,652,488 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.