erahnenvserwähneWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#17,276
“erahnen” frequency rank
#25,539
“erwähne” frequency rank
42815
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature erahnen erwähne
Definition durch eine Mischung aus Intuition und Erfahrung in seinen wesentlichen Zügen erkennen 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs erwähnen

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set erahnen and erwähne apart are highlighted. They share 5 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

7 ch
erahnen
7 ch
erwähne

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. erahnen ([ɛɐ̯ˈʔaːnən]) and erwähne ([ɛɐ̯ˈvɛːnə]) 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 5 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 42815, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

erahnen is recorded at frequency rank #17,276, classified as averb, pronounced [ɛɐ̯ˈʔaːnən]. erwähne is at rank #25,539, tagged as averb, pronounced [ɛɐ̯ˈvɛːnə].

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 42815, this pair ranks #1,437,633 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of erahnen vs erwähne

Shared letters: ehnr. Private to "erahnen": a. Private to "erwähne": .

"erahnen" · 7 letters · shape VCVCCVC  ·  "erwähne" · 7 letters · shape VCCVCCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • erahnenearhnen · erahenn · erahhnen · erahnenn · erahnne · erahnnen · eranhen · erhanen

Frequency comparison

erahnen#17,276
erwähne#25,539

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "erahnen" and "erwähne" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ɛɐ̯ˈʔaːnən] versus [ɛɐ̯ˈvɛːnə]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "erahnen" or "erwähne"?
"erahnen" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #17,276 in our German list, against #25,539 for "erwähne". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering erahnen vs erwähne

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Read both glosses above and match the meaning you intend, only context separates this pair.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “erahnen” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list