erduldenvserkundenWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#42,462
“erdulden” frequency rank
#11,860
“erkunden” frequency rank
54322
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature erdulden erkunden
Definition etwas Negatives ohne Widerspruch geduldig über sich ergehen lassen etwas genauer ansehen/untersuchen und dadurch neues Wissen erwerben

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set erdulden and erkunden apart are highlighted. They share 6 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

8 ch
erdulden
8 ch
erkunden

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. erdulden ([ɛɐ̯ˈdʊldn̩]) and erkunden ([ɛɐ̯ˈkʊndn̩]) 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 54322, 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]. erkunden is at rank #11,860, tagged as averb, pronounced [ɛɐ̯ˈkʊndn̩].

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 54322, this pair ranks #1,023,412 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of erdulden vs erkunden

Shared letters: denru. Private to "erdulden": l. Private to "erkunden": k.

"erdulden" · 8 letters · shape VCCVCCVC  ·  "erkunden" · 8 letters · shape VCCVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • erduldenedrulden · erddulden · erdluden · erdudlen · erduldden · erduldenn · erduldne · erduledn
  • erkundenekrunden · erkkunden · erknuden · erkudnen · erkundden · erkundenn · erkundne · erkunedn

Frequency comparison

erdulden#42,462
erkunden#11,860

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "erdulden" and "erkunden" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ɛɐ̯ˈdʊldn̩] versus [ɛɐ̯ˈkʊndn̩]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "erdulden" or "erkunden"?
"erkunden" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #11,860 in our German list, against #42,462 for "erdulden". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering erdulden vs erkunden

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