erfolgenvserwogenWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

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

#2,589
“erfolgen” frequency rank
#25,993
“erwogen” frequency rank
28582
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature erfolgen erwogen
Definition stattfinden, sich ereignen, getan werden (der Inhalt des Tuns steckt im Subjekt des Satzes) 1. Person Plural Indikativ Präteritum Aktiv des Verbs erwägen

Where the eye mixes erfolgen and erwogen

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. erfolgen runs 8 letters (VCCVCCVC) against erwogen's 7 (VCCVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

8 ch
erfolgen
7 ch
erwogen

Look-alike desk: erfolgen vs erwogen

A purely visual mix-up. erfolgen ([ɛɐ̯ˈfɔlɡn̩]) and erwogen ([ɛɐ̯ˈvoːɡn̩]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 28582, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

erfolgen is recorded at frequency rank #2,589, classified as averb, pronounced [ɛɐ̯ˈfɔlɡn̩]. erwogen is at rank #25,993, tagged as averb, pronounced [ɛɐ̯ˈvoːɡn̩].

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 28582, this pair ranks #1,782,210 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of erfolgen vs erwogen

Shared letters: egnor. Private to "erfolgen": fl. Private to "erwogen": w.

"erfolgen" · 8 letters · shape VCCVCCVC  ·  "erwogen" · 7 letters · shape VCCVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • erfolgen ← efrolgen · erffolgen · erflogen · erfoglen · erfolegn · erfolgenn · erfolggen · erfolgne
  • erwogen ← erowgen · errwogen · erwgoen · erwoegn · erwogenn · erwoggen · erwogne · erwwogen

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "erfolgen" and "erwogen" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ɛɐ̯ˈfɔlɡn̩] versus [ɛɐ̯ˈvoːɡn̩]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "erfolgen" vs "erwogen" - which ranks higher?
"erfolgen" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #2,589 in our German list, against #25,993 for "erwogen". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

After this comparison

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

  • Full dictionary entry for "erfolgen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "erwogen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,782,210 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "erfolgen" and "erwogen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "ertönen vs erwogen". 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 #1,782,210 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