versprechevsversprochenWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

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

#20,457
“verspreche” frequency rank
#4,237
“versprochen” frequency rank
24694
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature verspreche versprochen
Definition 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs versprechen Partizip Perfekt des Verbs versprechen

Where the eye mixes verspreche and versprochen

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

10 ch
verspreche
11 ch
versprochen

Look-alike desk: verspreche vs versprochen

A purely visual mix-up. verspreche ([fɛɐ̯ˈʃpʁɛçə]) and versprochen ([fɛɐ̯ˈʃpʁɔxn̩]) 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 24694, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

verspreche is recorded at frequency rank #20,457, classified as averb, pronounced [fɛɐ̯ˈʃpʁɛçə]. versprochen is at rank #4,237, tagged as averb, pronounced [fɛɐ̯ˈʃpʁɔxn̩].

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 24694, this pair ranks #1,844,039 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of verspreche vs versprochen

Shared letters: cehprsv. Private to "verspreche": -. Private to "versprochen": no.

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

Known mistypes of this pair

  • versprecheevrspreche · verpsreche · verrspreche · versperche · versppreche · versprcehe · versprecche · verspreceh
  • versprochenevrsprochen · verpsrochen · verrsprochen · versporchen · verspprochen · versprcohen · versprocchen · versprocehn

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "verspreche" and "versprochen" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([fɛɐ̯ˈʃpʁɛçə] versus [fɛɐ̯ˈʃpʁɔxn̩]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "verspreche" or "versprochen"?
"versprochen" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #4,237 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.

What to do next

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

  • Full dictionary entry for "verspreche" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "versprochen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,844,039 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "verspreche" and "versprochen" 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 #1,844,039 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