Which to use
“erfreuen” is a verb and “erfreuten” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #11,044
- “erfreuen” frequency rank
- #43,149
- “erfreuten” frequency rank
- 54193
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | erfreuen | erfreuten |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | eine Sache genießen, für eine Sache Freude, fröhliches Gefühl empfinden | Genitiv Singular Maskulinum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs erfreut |
Where the eye mixes erfreuen and erfreuten
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 8 letters in sequence. erfreuen runs 8 letters (VCCCVVVC) against erfreuten's 9 (VCCCVVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses erfreuen with erfreuten
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: erfreuen is [ɛɐ̯ˈfʁɔɪ̯ən] while erfreuten is [ɛɐ̯ˈfʁɔɪ̯tn̩]. 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 54193, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
erfreuen is recorded at frequency rank #11,044, classified as averb, pronounced [ɛɐ̯ˈfʁɔɪ̯ən]. erfreuten is at rank #43,149, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ɛɐ̯ˈfʁɔɪ̯tn̩].
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 54193, this pair ranks #1,028,501 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of erfreuen vs erfreuten
Shared letters: efnru. Private to "erfreuen": -. Private to "erfreuten": t.
"erfreuen" · 8 letters · shape VCCCVVVC · "erfreuten" · 9 letters · shape VCCCVVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "erfreuen" for "erfreuten" ever safe?
Which is more common, "erfreuen" or "erfreuten"?
What to do next
Eye-level mix-up between "erfreuen" and "erfreuten" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "erfreuen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "erfreuten" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,028,501 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "erfreuen" and "erfreuten" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "erfreuten vs erregten". 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 #1,028,501 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.