Which to use
“verspricht” and “verstrickt” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #5,439
- “verspricht” frequency rank
- #24,183
- “verstrickt” frequency rank
- 29622
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | verspricht | verstrickt |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | 3. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs versprechen | 2. Person Plural Imperativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs verstricken |
Where the eye mixes verspricht and verstrickt
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 8 letters in sequence. verspricht and verstrickt follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (CVCCCCVCCC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.
Look-alike desk: verspricht vs verstrickt
A purely visual mix-up. verspricht ([fɛɐ̯ˈʃpʁɪçt]) and verstrickt ([fɛɐ̯ˈʃtʁɪkt]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 29622, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
verspricht is recorded at frequency rank #5,439, classified as averb, pronounced [fɛɐ̯ˈʃpʁɪçt]. verstrickt is at rank #24,183, tagged as averb, pronounced [fɛɐ̯ˈʃtʁɪkt].
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 29622, this pair ranks #1,763,426 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of verspricht vs verstrickt
Shared letters: ceirstv. Private to "verspricht": hp. Private to "verstrickt": k.
"verspricht" · 10 letters · shape CVCCCCVCCC · "verstrickt" · 10 letters · shape CVCCCCVCCC
Known mistypes of this pair
- verspricht ← evrspricht · verpsricht · verrspricht · verspircht · versppricht · versprciht · verspriccht · versprichht
- verstrickt ← evrstrickt · verrstrickt · versrtickt · versstrickt · verstirckt · verstrcikt · verstricckt · verstrickkt
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "verspricht" for "verstrickt" ever safe?
In ordinary German text, does "verspricht" or "verstrickt" show up more?
What to do next
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "verspricht" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "verstrickt" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,763,426 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "verspricht" and "verstrickt" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "verspricht vs versprüht". 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 #1,763,426 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.