versprachvsversprecheWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#7,841
“versprach” frequency rank
#20,457
“verspreche” frequency rank
28298
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature versprach verspreche
Definition 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präteritum Aktiv des Verbs versprechen 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs versprechen

Where the eye mixes versprach and verspreche

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 8 letters in sequence.

9 ch
versprach
10 ch
verspreche

Why the eye confuses versprach with verspreche

A purely visual mix-up. versprach ([fɛɐ̯ˈʃpʁaːx]) and verspreche ([fɛɐ̯ˈʃpʁɛçə]) 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 28298, 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]. verspreche is at rank #20,457, tagged as averb, pronounced [fɛɐ̯ˈʃpʁɛçə].

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 28298, this pair ranks #1,787,248 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of versprach vs verspreche

Shared letters: cehprsv. Private to "versprach": a. Private to "verspreche": -.

"versprach" · 9 letters · shape CVCCCCVCC  ·  "verspreche" · 10 letters · shape CVCCCCVCCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • versprachevrsprach · verpsrach · verrsprach · versparch · verspprach · verspracch · versprachh · versprahc
  • versprecheevrspreche · verpsreche · verrspreche · versperche · versppreche · versprcehe · versprecche · verspreceh

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "versprach" and "verspreche" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([fɛɐ̯ˈʃpʁaːx] versus [fɛɐ̯ˈʃpʁɛçə]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "versprach" vs "verspreche" - which ranks higher?
"versprach" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #7,841 in our German list, against #20,457 for "verspreche". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Useful next steps

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

  • Full dictionary entry for "versprach" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "verspreche" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,787,248 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "versprach" and "verspreche" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "verspreche 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 #1,787,248 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