Which to use
“erfüllen” is a verb and “erfüllte” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #2,709
- “erfüllen” frequency rank
- #14,280
- “erfüllte” frequency rank
- 16989
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | erfüllen | erfüllte |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | die Gedanken beherrschen, starke Gefühle auslösen | Nominativ Singular Femininum der starken Flexion des Positivs des Adjektivs erfüllt |
Where the eye mixes erfüllen and erfüllte
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence. erfüllen (VCCVCCVC) and erfüllte (VCCVCCCV) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.
Why the eye confuses erfüllen with erfüllte
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: erfüllen is [ɛɐ̯ˈfʏlən] while erfüllte is [ɛɐ̯ˈfʏltə]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 16989, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
erfüllen is recorded at frequency rank #2,709, classified as averb, pronounced [ɛɐ̯ˈfʏlən]. erfüllte is at rank #14,280, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ɛɐ̯ˈfʏltə].
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 16989, this pair ranks #1,931,312 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of erfüllen vs erfüllte
Shared letters: eflrü. Private to "erfüllen": n. Private to "erfüllte": t.
"erfüllen" · 8 letters · shape VCCVCCVC · "erfüllte" · 8 letters · shape VCCVCCCV
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "erfüllen" for "erfüllte" ever safe?
In ordinary German text, does "erfüllen" or "erfüllte" show up more?
After this comparison
Eye-level mix-up between "erfüllen" and "erfüllte" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "erfüllen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "erfüllte" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,931,312 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "erfüllen" and "erfüllte" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "erfüllte vs erfülltes". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #1,931,312 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.