operavsopfertConfusable pair

Quick tell: opera is a noun, opfert is a verb, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“opera” is a noun and “opfert” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#14,141
“opera” frequency rank
#30,229
“opfert” frequency rank
44370
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature opera opfert
Definition das Werk, die Arbeit 2. Person Plural Imperativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs opfern

Where the eye mixes opera and opfert

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.

5 ch
opera
6 ch
opfert

Why the eye confuses opera with opfert

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: opera is [ˈɔːpera] while opfert is [ˈɔp͡fɐt]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 44370, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

opera is recorded at frequency rank #14,141, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈɔːpera]. opfert is at rank #30,229, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈɔp͡fɐt].

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 44370, this pair ranks #1,388,374 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of opera vs opfert

Shared letters: eopr. Private to "opera": a. Private to "opfert": ft.

"opera" · 5 letters · shape VCVCV  ·  "opfert" · 6 letters · shape VCCVCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • operaoepra · opear · operra · oppera · oprea · poera
  • opfertofpert · opefrt · opferrt · opfertt · opfetr · opffert · opfret · oppfert

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "opera" and "opfert" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "opera" is a noun and "opfert" a verb, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "opera" or "opfert"?
"opera" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #14,141 in our German list, against #30,229 for "opfert". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.

  • Full dictionary entry for "opera" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "opfert" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,388,374 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "opera" and "opfert" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "opfert vs opferte". 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 #1,388,374 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