erfasstenvserlassenWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: erfassten is a adjective, erlassen is a verb, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“erfassten” is an adjective and “erlassen” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#23,112
“erfassten” frequency rank
#7,909
“erlassen” frequency rank
31021
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature erfassten erlassen
Definition Genitiv Singular Maskulinum der starken Flexion des Positivs des Adjektivs erfasst eine staatliche Anordnung treffen und verkünden

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set erfassten and erlassen apart are highlighted. They share 7 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

9 ch
erfassten
8 ch
erlassen

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: erfassten is [ɛɐ̯ˈfastn̩] while erlassen is [ɛɐ̯ˈlasn̩]. 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 (adjective vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 31021, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

erfassten is recorded at frequency rank #23,112, classified as anadj, pronounced [ɛɐ̯ˈfastn̩]. erlassen is at rank #7,909, tagged as averb, pronounced [ɛɐ̯ˈlasn̩].

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 31021, this pair ranks #1,736,357 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of erfassten vs erlassen

Shared letters: aenrs. Private to "erfassten": ft. Private to "erlassen": l.

"erfassten" · 9 letters · shape VCCVCCCVC  ·  "erlassen" · 8 letters · shape VCCVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • erfasstenefrassten · erafssten · erfassetn · erfasstenn · erfasstne · erfasstten · erfasten · erfastsen
  • erlassenelrassen · eralssen · erlasen · erlasesn · erlassenn · erlassne · erlaßen · erllassen

Frequency comparison

erfassten#23,112
erlassen#7,909

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "erfassten" and "erlassen" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "erfassten" is an adjective and "erlassen" a verb, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "erfassten" or "erlassen"?
"erlassen" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #7,909 in our German list, against #23,112 for "erfassten". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering erfassten vs erlassen

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need an adjective, it's “erfassten”; for a verb, it's “erlassen”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “erfassten” 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