sperrenvssperrtTell them apart

Which to use

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

#7,531
“sperren” frequency rank
#16,002
“sperrt” frequency rank
23533
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature sperren sperrt
Definition den Zugang zu einem Gebiet oder Gebäude oder System verhindern 2. Person Plural Imperativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs sperren

Where the eye mixes sperren and sperrt

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence.

7 ch
sperren
6 ch
sperrt

Look-alike desk: sperren vs sperrt

A purely visual mix-up. sperren ([ˈʃpɛʁən]) and sperrt ([ʃpɛʁt]) 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 23533, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

sperren is recorded at frequency rank #7,531, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈʃpɛʁən]. sperrt is at rank #16,002, tagged as averb, pronounced [ʃpɛʁt].

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 23533, this pair ranks #1,860,057 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of sperren vs sperrt

Shared letters: eprs. Private to "sperren": n. Private to "sperrt": t.

"sperren" · 7 letters · shape CCVCCVC  ·  "sperrt" · 6 letters · shape CCVCCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • sperrenpserren · seprren · speren · sperern · sperrenn · sperrne · spperren · spreren
  • sperrtpserrt · seprrt · sperrtt · spert · spertr · spperrt · sprert · ssperrt

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "sperren" and "sperrt" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([ˈʃpɛʁən] versus [ʃpɛʁt]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "sperren" or "sperrt"?
"sperren" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #7,531 in our German list, against #16,002 for "sperrt". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Useful next steps

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

  • Full dictionary entry for "sperren" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "sperrt" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,860,057 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "sperren" and "sperrt" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "serra vs sperrt". 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 #1,860,057 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