preisenvspreistWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#4,923
“preisen” frequency rank
#38,344
“preist” frequency rank
43267
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature preisen preist
Definition jemanden oder etwas überschwänglich loben, dessen Größe bewundern/anerkennen 2. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs preisen

Where the eye mixes preisen and preist

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. preisen runs 7 letters (CCVVCVC) against preist's 6 (CCVVCC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

7 ch
preisen
6 ch
preist

Visual trap between preisen and preist

A purely visual mix-up. preisen ([ˈpʁaɪ̯zn̩]) and preist ([pʁaɪ̯st]) 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 43267, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

preisen is recorded at frequency rank #4,923, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈpʁaɪ̯zn̩]. preist is at rank #38,344, tagged as averb, pronounced [pʁaɪ̯st].

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 43267, this pair ranks #1,423,467 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of preisen vs preist

Shared letters: eiprs. Private to "preisen": n. Private to "preist": t.

"preisen" · 7 letters · shape CCVVCVC  ·  "preist" · 6 letters · shape CCVVCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • preisen ← perisen · ppreisen · preiesn · preisenn · preisne · preissen · presien · priesen
  • preist ← perist · ppreist · preisst · preistt · preits · presit · priest · prreist

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "preisen" and "preist" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ˈpʁaɪ̯zn̩] versus [pʁaɪ̯st]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "preisen" or "preist"?
"preisen" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #4,923 in our German list, against #38,344 for "preist". 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 "preisen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "preist" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,423,467 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "preisen" and "preist" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "preist vs presst". 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 #1,423,467 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