EsravsesstWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: Esra is a name, esst is a verb, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“Esra” is a name and “esst” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#48,863
“Esra” frequency rank
#29,114
“esst” frequency rank
77977
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Esra esst
Definition männlicher Vorname 2. Person Plural Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs essen

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set Esra and esst apart are highlighted. They share 2 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

4 ch
Esra
4 ch
esst

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: Esra is [ˈɛsʁa] while esst is [ɛst]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (name vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 77977, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Esra is recorded at frequency rank #48,863, classified as aname, pronounced [ˈɛsʁa]. esst is at rank #29,114, tagged as averb, pronounced [ɛst].

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 77977, this pair ranks #248,573 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of Esra vs esst

Shared letters: es. Private to "Esra": ar. Private to "esst": t.

"Esra" · 4 letters · shape VCCV  ·  "esst" · 4 letters · shape VCCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Esraersa · esar · esrra · essra
  • esstesstt · eßt

Frequency comparison

Esra#48,863
esst#29,114

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "Esra" and "esst" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "Esra" is a name and "esst" a verb, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "Esra" or "esst"?
"esst" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #29,114 in our German list, against #48,863 for "Esra". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering Esra vs esst

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a name, it's “Esra”; for a verb, it's “esst”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “Esra” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list