Which to use
“sperren” is a verb and “Sperrung” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #7,531
- “sperren” frequency rank
- #12,390
- “Sperrung” frequency rank
- 19921
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | sperren | Sperrung |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | den Zugang zu einem Gebiet oder Gebäude oder System verhindern | das Sperren |
Where the eye mixes sperren and Sperrung
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. sperren runs 7 letters (CCVCCVC) against Sperrung's 8 (CCVCCVCC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Visual trap between sperren and Sperrung
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: sperren is [ˈʃpɛʁən] while Sperrung is [ˈʃpɛʁʊŋ]. 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 (verb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 19921, 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]. Sperrung is at rank #12,390, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈʃpɛʁʊŋ].
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 19921, this pair ranks #1,903,215 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of sperren vs Sperrung
Shared letters: enprs. Private to "sperren": -. Private to "Sperrung": gu.
"sperren" · 7 letters · shape CCVCCVC · "Sperrung" · 8 letters · shape CCVCCVCC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "sperren" and "Sperrung" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "sperren" or "Sperrung"?
Useful next steps
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "sperren" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "Sperrung" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,903,215 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "sperren" and "Sperrung" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Sperrung vs Sperrungen". 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 #1,903,215 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.