erfolgtenvserfülltenWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

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

#10,073
“erfolgten” frequency rank
#22,703
“erfüllten” frequency rank
32776
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature erfolgten erfüllten
Definition Genitiv Singular Maskulinum der starken Flexion des Positivs des Adjektivs erfolgt Genitiv Singular Maskulinum der starken Flexion des Positivs des Adjektivs erfüllt

Where the eye mixes erfolgten and erfüllten

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence. erfolgten and erfüllten follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (VCCVCCCVC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.

9 ch
erfolgten
9 ch
erfüllten

Look-alike desk: erfolgten vs erfüllten

A purely visual mix-up. erfolgten ([ɛɐ̯ˈfɔlktn̩]) and erfüllten ([ɛɐ̯ˈfʏltn̩]) 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 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 32776, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

erfolgten is recorded at frequency rank #10,073, classified as anadj, pronounced [ɛɐ̯ˈfɔlktn̩]. erfüllten is at rank #22,703, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ɛɐ̯ˈfʏltn̩].

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 32776, this pair ranks #1,700,279 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of erfolgten vs erfüllten

Shared letters: eflnrt. Private to "erfolgten": go. Private to "erfüllten": ü.

"erfolgten" · 9 letters · shape VCCVCCCVC  ·  "erfüllten" · 9 letters · shape VCCVCCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • erfolgten ← efrolgten · erffolgten · erflogten · erfoglten · erfolgetn · erfolggten · erfolgtenn · erfolgtne

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "erfolgten" for "erfüllten" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([ɛɐ̯ˈfɔlktn̩] versus [ɛɐ̯ˈfʏltn̩]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
In ordinary German text, does "erfolgten" or "erfüllten" show up more?
"erfolgten" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #10,073 in our German list, against #22,703 for "erfüllten". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

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 "erfolgten" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "erfüllten" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,700,279 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "erfolgten" and "erfüllten" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "erfüllten vs erfülltes". 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 #1,700,279 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