Which to use
“erahnen” and “erzählen” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #17,276
- “erahnen” frequency rank
- #1,659
- “erzählen” frequency rank
- 18935
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | erahnen | erzählen |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | durch eine Mischung aus Intuition und Erfahrung in seinen wesentlichen Zügen erkennen | schriftlich oder mündlich ein Erlebnis oder Vorkommnis anschaulich zur Darstellung bringen |
Where the eye mixes erahnen and erzählen
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. erahnen runs 7 letters (VCVCCVC) against erzählen's 8 (VCCVCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Visual trap between erahnen and erzählen
A purely visual mix-up. erahnen ([ɛɐ̯ˈʔaːnən]) and erzählen ([ɛɐ̯ˈt͡sɛːlən]) 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 18935, 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]. erzählen is at rank #1,659, tagged as averb, pronounced [ɛɐ̯ˈt͡sɛːlən].
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 18935, this pair ranks #1,913,382 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of erahnen vs erzählen
Shared letters: ehnr. Private to "erahnen": a. Private to "erzählen": lzä.
"erahnen" · 7 letters · shape VCVCCVC · "erzählen" · 8 letters · shape VCCVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- erahnen ← earhnen · erahenn · erahhnen · erahnenn · erahnne · erahnnen · eranhen · erhanen
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "erahnen" for "erzählen" ever safe?
In ordinary German text, does "erahnen" or "erzählen" show up more?
Useful next steps
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "erahnen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "erzählen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,913,382 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "erahnen" and "erzählen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "erahnen vs ertönen". 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 #1,913,382 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.