Which to use
“erfülle” is a verb and “erfüllten” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #22,702
- “erfülle” frequency rank
- #22,703
- “erfüllten” frequency rank
- 45405
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | erfülle | erfüllten |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs erfüllen | Genitiv Singular Maskulinum der starken Flexion des Positivs des Adjektivs erfüllt |
Where the eye mixes erfülle and erfüllten
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence. erfülle runs 7 letters (VCCVCCV) against erfüllten's 9 (VCCVCCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses erfülle with erfüllten
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: erfülle is [ɛɐ̯ˈfʏlə] while erfüllten is [ɛɐ̯ˈfʏltn̩]. 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 (verb vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 45405, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
erfülle is recorded at frequency rank #22,702, classified as averb, pronounced [ɛɐ̯ˈfʏlə]. 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 45405, this pair ranks #1,354,150 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of erfülle vs erfüllten
Shared letters: eflrü. Private to "erfülle": -. Private to "erfüllten": nt.
"erfülle" · 7 letters · shape VCCVCCV · "erfüllten" · 9 letters · shape VCCVCCCVC
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "erfülle" and "erfüllten" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Frequency check: "erfülle" vs "erfüllten" - which ranks higher?
Useful next steps
Eye-level mix-up between "erfülle" and "erfüllten" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "erfülle" 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 #1,354,150 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "erfülle" and "erfüllten" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "erfüllten vs erfülltes". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #1,354,150 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.