versprachvsversprachenWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

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

#7,841
“versprach” frequency rank
#28,915
“versprachen” frequency rank
36756
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature versprach versprachen
Definition 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präteritum Aktiv des Verbs versprechen 1. Person Plural Indikativ Präteritum Aktiv des Verbs versprechen

Where the eye mixes versprach and versprachen

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 9 letters in sequence.

9 ch
versprach
11 ch
versprachen

Why the eye confuses versprach with versprachen

A purely visual mix-up. versprach ([fɛɐ̯ˈʃpʁaːx]) and versprachen ([fɛɐ̯ˈʃpʁaːxn̩]) 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 2 extra letter(s) - “versprach” sits inside “versprachen”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 36756, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

versprach is recorded at frequency rank #7,841, classified as averb, pronounced [fɛɐ̯ˈʃpʁaːx]. versprachen is at rank #28,915, tagged as averb, pronounced [fɛɐ̯ˈʃpʁaːxn̩].

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 36756, this pair ranks #1,607,463 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of versprach vs versprachen

Shared letters: acehprsv. Private to "versprach": -. Private to "versprachen": n.

"versprach" · 9 letters · shape CVCCCCVCC  ·  "versprachen" · 11 letters · shape CVCCCCVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • versprachevrsprach · verpsrach · verrsprach · versparch · verspprach · verspracch · versprachh · versprahc
  • versprachenevrsprachen · verpsrachen · verrsprachen · versparchen · verspprachen · verspracchen · verspracehn · versprachenn

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "versprach" for "versprachen" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([fɛɐ̯ˈʃpʁaːx] versus [fɛɐ̯ˈʃpʁaːxn̩]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "versprach" or "versprachen"?
"versprach" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #7,841 in our German list, against #28,915 for "versprachen". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

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

  • Full dictionary entry for "versprach" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "versprachen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,607,463 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "versprach" and "versprachen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "versprachen vs vorsprechen". 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 #1,607,463 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