erduldenvserfüllenWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#42,462
“erdulden” frequency rank
#2,709
“erfüllen” frequency rank
45171
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature erdulden erfüllen
Definition etwas Negatives ohne Widerspruch geduldig über sich ergehen lassen die Gedanken beherrschen, starke Gefühle auslösen

Where the spellings diverge

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

8 ch
erdulden
8 ch
erfüllen

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. erdulden ([ɛɐ̯ˈdʊldn̩]) and erfüllen ([ɛɐ̯ˈfʏlən]) 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 3 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 45171, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

erdulden is recorded at frequency rank #42,462, classified as averb, pronounced [ɛɐ̯ˈdʊldn̩]. erfüllen is at rank #2,709, tagged as averb, pronounced [ɛɐ̯ˈfʏlən].

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 45171, this pair ranks #1,362,073 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of erdulden vs erfüllen

Shared letters: elnr. Private to "erdulden": du. Private to "erfüllen": .

"erdulden" · 8 letters · shape VCCVCCVC  ·  "erfüllen" · 8 letters · shape VCCVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • erduldenedrulden · erddulden · erdluden · erdudlen · erduldden · erduldenn · erduldne · erduledn

Frequency comparison

erdulden#42,462
erfüllen#2,709

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "erdulden" and "erfüllen" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ɛɐ̯ˈdʊldn̩] versus [ɛɐ̯ˈfʏlən]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "erdulden" or "erfüllen"?
"erfüllen" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #2,709 in our German list, against #42,462 for "erdulden". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

Remembering erdulden vs erfüllen

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 “erdulden” 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 FrequencyWords open word-frequency list