sprachvssprechtConfusable pair

Which to use

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

#1,460
“sprach” frequency rank
#23,714
“sprecht” frequency rank
25174
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature sprach sprecht
Definition 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präteritum Aktiv des Verbs sprechen 2. Person Plural Imperativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs sprechen

Where the eye mixes sprach and sprecht

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

6 ch
sprach
7 ch
sprecht

Look-alike desk: sprach vs sprecht

A purely visual mix-up. sprach ([ʃpʁaːx]) and sprecht ([ʃpʁɛçt]) 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 25174, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

sprach is recorded at frequency rank #1,460, classified as averb, pronounced [ʃpʁaːx]. sprecht is at rank #23,714, tagged as averb, pronounced [ʃpʁɛçt].

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 25174, this pair ranks #1,837,109 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of sprach vs sprecht

Shared letters: chprs. Private to "sprach": a. Private to "sprecht": et.

"sprach" · 6 letters · shape CCCVCC  ·  "sprecht" · 7 letters · shape CCCVCCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • sprachpsrach · sparch · spprach · spracch · sprachh · sprahc · sprcah · sprrach
  • sprechtpsrecht · spercht · spprecht · sprceht · spreccht · sprechht · sprechtt · sprecth

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "sprach" and "sprecht" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ʃpʁaːx] versus [ʃpʁɛçt]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
In ordinary German text, does "sprach" or "sprecht" show up more?
"sprach" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #1,460 in our German list, against #23,714 for "sprecht". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

Useful next steps

Eye-level mix-up between "sprach" and "sprecht" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.

  • Full dictionary entry for "sprach" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "sprecht" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,837,109 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "sprach" and "sprecht" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Specht vs sprecht". 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 #1,837,109 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