sprengenvssprengtTell them apart

Which to use

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

#13,028
“sprengen” frequency rank
#23,715
“sprengt” frequency rank
36743
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature sprengen sprengt
Definition etwas mit Hilfe von explosivem Material zerstören 2. Person Plural Imperativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs sprengen

Where the eye mixes sprengen and sprengt

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. sprengen runs 8 letters (CCCVCCVC) against sprengt's 7 (CCCVCCC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

8 ch
sprengen
7 ch
sprengt

Why the eye confuses sprengen with sprengt

A purely visual mix-up. sprengen ([ˈʃpʁɛŋən]) and sprengt ([ʃpʁɛŋt]) 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 36743, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

sprengen is recorded at frequency rank #13,028, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈʃpʁɛŋən]. sprengt is at rank #23,715, tagged as averb, pronounced [ʃpʁɛŋt].

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 36743, this pair ranks #1,607,787 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of sprengen vs sprengt

Shared letters: egnprs. Private to "sprengen": -. Private to "sprengt": t.

"sprengen" · 8 letters · shape CCCVCCVC  ·  "sprengt" · 7 letters · shape CCCVCCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • sprengen ← psrengen · sperngen · spprengen · spregnen · sprenegn · sprengenn · sprenggen · sprengne
  • sprengt ← psrengt · sperngt · spprengt · spregnt · sprenggt · sprengtt · sprenngt · sprentg

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "sprengen" for "sprengt" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([ˈʃpʁɛŋən] versus [ʃpʁɛŋt]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "sprengen" vs "sprengt" - which ranks higher?
"sprengen" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #13,028 in our German list, against #23,715 for "sprengt". 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 "sprengen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "sprengt" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,607,787 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "sprengen" and "sprengt" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "sprengt vs sprengte". 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 #1,607,787 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