ErfolgevserfolgterWhich spelling fits?

Quick tell: Erfolge is a noun, erfolgter is an adjective, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“Erfolge” is a noun and “erfolgter” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#2,891
“Erfolge” frequency rank
#31,028
“erfolgter” frequency rank
33919
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Erfolge erfolgter
Definition Variante für den Dativ Singular des Substantivs Erfolg Nominativ Singular Maskulinum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs erfolgt

Where the eye mixes Erfolge and erfolgter

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence. Erfolge runs 7 letters (VCCVCCV) against erfolgter's 9 (VCCVCCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

7 ch
Erfolge
9 ch
erfolgter

Why the eye confuses Erfolge with erfolgter

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: Erfolge is [ɛɐ̯ˈfɔlɡə] while erfolgter is [ɛɐ̯ˈfɔlktɐ]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 2 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 33919, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Erfolge is recorded at frequency rank #2,891, classified as anoun, pronounced [ɛɐ̯ˈfɔlɡə]. erfolgter is at rank #31,028, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ɛɐ̯ˈfɔlktɐ].

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 33919, this pair ranks #1,675,104 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of Erfolge vs erfolgter

Shared letters: efglor. Private to "Erfolge": -. Private to "erfolgter": t.

"Erfolge" · 7 letters · shape VCCVCCV  ·  "erfolgter" · 9 letters · shape VCCVCCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Erfolge ← efrolge · erffolge · erfloge · erfogle · erfoleg · erfolgge · erfollge · eroflge
  • erfolgter ← efrolgter · erffolgter · erflogter · erfoglter · erfolgetr · erfolggter · erfolgterr · erfolgtre

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "Erfolge" and "erfolgter" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "Erfolge" is a noun and "erfolgter" an adjective, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "Erfolge" or "erfolgter"?
"Erfolge" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #2,891 in our German list, against #31,028 for "erfolgter". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

Useful next steps

Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.

  • Full dictionary entry for "Erfolge" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "erfolgter" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,675,104 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Erfolge" and "erfolgter" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Erfolges vs erfolgter". 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 #1,675,104 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