Which to use
“erfüllen” is a verb and “erfüllten” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #2,709
- “erfüllen” frequency rank
- #22,703
- “erfüllten” frequency rank
- 25412
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | erfüllen | erfüllten |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | die Gedanken beherrschen, starke Gefühle auslösen | Genitiv Singular Maskulinum der starken Flexion des Positivs des Adjektivs erfüllt |
Where the eye mixes erfüllen and erfüllten
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 8 letters in sequence. erfüllen runs 8 letters (VCCVCCVC) against erfüllten's 9 (VCCVCCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Look-alike desk: erfüllen vs erfüllten
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: erfüllen is [ɛɐ̯ˈfʏlən] while erfüllten is [ɛɐ̯ˈfʏltn̩]. 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 25412, 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]. 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 25412, this pair ranks #1,833,704 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of erfüllen vs erfüllten
Shared letters: eflnrü. Private to "erfüllen": -. Private to "erfüllten": t.
"erfüllen" · 8 letters · shape VCCVCCVC · "erfüllten" · 9 letters · shape VCCVCCCVC
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "erfüllen" for "erfüllten" ever safe?
In ordinary German text, does "erfüllen" or "erfüllten" show up more?
Useful next steps
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "erfüllen" 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 #1,833,704 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "erfüllen" and "erfüllten" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "erfüllten vs erfülltes". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #1,833,704 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.