Which to use
“erfassen” is a verb and “erfassten” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #7,311
- “erfassen” frequency rank
- #23,112
- “erfassten” frequency rank
- 30423
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | erfassen | erfassten |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | ergreifen, mitreißen; meistens durch ein vorbeikommendes Fahrzeug | Genitiv Singular Maskulinum der starken Flexion des Positivs des Adjektivs erfasst |
Where the eye mixes erfassen and erfassten
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 8 letters in sequence. erfassen runs 8 letters (VCCVCCVC) against erfassten's 9 (VCCVCCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses erfassen with erfassten
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: erfassen is [ɛɐ̯ˈfasn̩] while erfassten is [ɛɐ̯ˈfastn̩]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 30423, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
erfassen is recorded at frequency rank #7,311, classified as averb, pronounced [ɛɐ̯ˈfasn̩]. erfassten is at rank #23,112, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ɛɐ̯ˈfastn̩].
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 30423, this pair ranks #1,748,119 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of erfassen vs erfassten
Shared letters: aefnrs. Private to "erfassen": -. Private to "erfassten": t.
"erfassen" · 8 letters · shape VCCVCCVC · "erfassten" · 9 letters · shape VCCVCCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "erfassen" for "erfassten" ever safe?
Frequency check: "erfassen" vs "erfassten" - which ranks higher?
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 "erfassen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "erfassten" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,748,119 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "erfassen" and "erfassten" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "erfasste vs erfassten". 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 #1,748,119 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.