ErfahrungenvsErwähnungenWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#1,287
“Erfahrungen” frequency rank
#44,579
“Erwähnungen” frequency rank
45866
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Erfahrungen Erwähnungen
Definition Nominativ Plural des Substantivs Erfahrung Nominativ Plural des Substantivs Erwähnung

Where the eye mixes Erfahrungen and Erwähnungen

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 8 letters in sequence. Erfahrungen and Erwähnungen follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (VCCVCCVCCVC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.

11 ch
Erfahrungen
11 ch
Erwähnungen

Why the eye confuses Erfahrungen with Erwähnungen

A purely visual mix-up. Erfahrungen ([ɛɐ̯ˈfaːʁʊŋən]) and Erwähnungen ([ɛɐ̯ˈvɛːnʊŋən]) 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 45866, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Erfahrungen is recorded at frequency rank #1,287, classified as anoun, pronounced [ɛɐ̯ˈfaːʁʊŋən]. Erwähnungen is at rank #44,579, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ɛɐ̯ˈvɛːnʊŋən].

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 45866, this pair ranks #1,338,507 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of Erfahrungen vs Erwähnungen

Shared letters: eghnru. Private to "Erfahrungen": af. Private to "Erwähnungen": .

"Erfahrungen" · 11 letters · shape VCCVCCVCCVC  ·  "Erwähnungen" · 11 letters · shape VCCVCCVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Erfahrungenefrahrungen · erafhrungen · erfahhrungen · erfahrnugen · erfahrrungen · erfahrugnen · erfahrunegn · erfahrungenn

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "Erfahrungen" for "Erwähnungen" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([ɛɐ̯ˈfaːʁʊŋən] versus [ɛɐ̯ˈvɛːnʊŋən]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "Erfahrungen" or "Erwähnungen"?
"Erfahrungen" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #1,287 in our German list, against #44,579 for "Erwähnungen". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

After this comparison

Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.

  • Full dictionary entry for "Erfahrungen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Erwähnungen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,338,507 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Erfahrungen" and "Erwähnungen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Erwägungen vs Erwähnungen". 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 #1,338,507 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list