opfernvsopfertConfusable pair

Which to use

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

#4,729
“opfern” frequency rank
#30,229
“opfert” frequency rank
34958
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature opfern opfert
Definition etwas als Opfer darbringen; etwas einem Gott während einer Zeremonie geben 2. Person Plural Imperativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs opfern

Where the eye mixes opfern and opfert

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. opfern and opfert follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (VCCVCC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.

6 ch
opfern
6 ch
opfert

Look-alike desk: opfern vs opfert

A purely visual mix-up. opfern ([ˈɔp͡fɐn]) and opfert ([ˈɔp͡fɐt]) 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 a single letter - n in “opfern” becomes t in “opfert”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 34958, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

opfern is recorded at frequency rank #4,729, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈɔp͡fɐn]. 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 34958, this pair ranks #1,651,374 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of opfern vs opfert

Shared letters: efopr. Private to "opfern": n. Private to "opfert": t.

"opfern" · 6 letters · shape VCCVCC  ·  "opfert" · 6 letters · shape VCCVCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • opfern ← ofpern · opefrn · opfenr · opfernn · opferrn · opffern · opfren · oppfern
  • opfert ← ofpert · opefrt · opferrt · opfertt · opfetr · opffert · opfret · oppfert

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "opfern" for "opfert" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([ˈɔp͡fɐn] versus [ˈɔp͡fɐt]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "opfern" vs "opfert" - which ranks higher?
"opfern" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #4,729 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.

What to do next

Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.

  • Full dictionary entry for "opfern" 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 #1,651,374 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "opfern" 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 #1,651,374 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