sprengtvssprengteWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

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

#23,715
“sprengt” frequency rank
#44,239
“sprengte” frequency rank
67954
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature sprengt sprengte
Definition 2. Person Plural Imperativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs sprengen 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präteritum Aktiv des Verbs sprengen

Where the eye mixes sprengt and sprengte

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

7 ch
sprengt
8 ch
sprengte

Why the eye confuses sprengt with sprengte

A purely visual mix-up. sprengt ([ʃpʁɛŋt]) and sprengte ([ˈʃpʁɛŋtə]) 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 extra letter(s) - “sprengt” sits inside “sprengte”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 67954, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

sprengt is recorded at frequency rank #23,715, classified as averb, pronounced [ʃpʁɛŋt]. sprengte is at rank #44,239, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈʃpʁɛŋtə].

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 67954, this pair ranks #523,371 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of sprengt vs sprengte

Shared letters: egnprst. Private to "sprengt": -. Private to "sprengte": -.

"sprengt" · 7 letters · shape CCCVCCC  ·  "sprengte" · 8 letters · shape CCCVCCCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • sprengtpsrengt · sperngt · spprengt · spregnt · sprenggt · sprengtt · sprenngt · sprentg
  • sprengtepsrengte · sperngte · spprengte · spregnte · sprenget · sprenggte · sprengtte · sprenngte

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "sprengt" and "sprengte" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ʃpʁɛŋt] versus [ˈʃpʁɛŋtə]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
In ordinary German text, does "sprengt" or "sprengte" show up more?
"sprengt" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #23,715 in our German list, against #44,239 for "sprengte". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

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

  • Full dictionary entry for "sprengt" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "sprengte" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #523,371 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "sprengt" and "sprengte" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Sprengel 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 #523,371 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