OpfervsopfertTell them apart

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

Which to use

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

#837
“Opfer” frequency rank
#30,229
“opfert” frequency rank
31066
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Opfer opfert
Definition meist rituelle Gabe an einen Gott 2. Person Plural Imperativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs opfern

Where the eye mixes Opfer and opfert

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. Opfer runs 5 letters (VCCVC) against opfert's 6 (VCCVCC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

5 ch
Opfer
6 ch
opfert

Look-alike desk: Opfer vs opfert

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: Opfer is [ˈɔp͡fɐ] while opfert is [ˈɔp͡fɐt]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 extra letter(s) - “Opfer” sits inside “opfert”, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 31066, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Opfer is recorded at frequency rank #837, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈɔp͡fɐ]. 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 31066, this pair ranks #1,735,495 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of Opfer vs opfert

Shared letters: efopr. Private to "Opfer": -. Private to "opfert": t.

"Opfer" · 5 letters · shape VCCVC  ·  "opfert" · 6 letters · shape VCCVCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Opfer ← ofper · opefr · opferr · opffer · opfre · oppfer · pofer
  • opfert ← ofpert · opefrt · opferrt · opfertt · opfetr · opffert · opfret · oppfert

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "Opfer" and "opfert" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "Opfer" is a noun and "opfert" a verb, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Frequency check: "Opfer" vs "opfert" - which ranks higher?
"Opfer" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #837 in our German list, against #30,229 for "opfert". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

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 "Opfer" 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 #1,735,495 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Opfer" 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 #1,735,495 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