versprachenvsversprecheConfusable pair

Which to use

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

#28,915
“versprachen” frequency rank
#20,457
“verspreche” frequency rank
49372
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

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

Where the eye mixes versprachen and verspreche

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

11 ch
versprachen
10 ch
verspreche

Why the eye confuses versprachen with verspreche

A purely visual mix-up. versprachen ([fɛɐ̯ˈʃpʁaːxn̩]) 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 49372, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

versprachen is recorded at frequency rank #28,915, classified as averb, pronounced [fɛɐ̯ˈʃpʁaːxn̩]. 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 49372, this pair ranks #1,213,942 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of versprachen vs verspreche

Shared letters: cehprsv. Private to "versprachen": an. Private to "verspreche": -.

"versprachen" · 11 letters · shape CVCCCCVCCVC  ·  "verspreche" · 10 letters · shape CVCCCCVCCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • versprachenevrsprachen · verpsrachen · verrsprachen · versparchen · verspprachen · verspracchen · verspracehn · versprachenn
  • versprecheevrspreche · verpsreche · verrspreche · versperche · versppreche · versprcehe · versprecche · verspreceh

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "versprachen" for "verspreche" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([fɛɐ̯ˈʃpʁaːxn̩] versus [fɛɐ̯ˈʃpʁɛçə]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
In ordinary German text, does "versprachen" or "verspreche" show up more?
"verspreche" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #20,457 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.

After this comparison

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

  • Full dictionary entry for "versprachen" 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 #1,213,942 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "versprachen" and "verspreche" 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 #1,213,942 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