Which to use
“erfüllt” is a verb and “erfüllte” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #2,056
- “erfüllt” frequency rank
- #14,280
- “erfüllte” frequency rank
- 16336
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | erfüllt | erfüllte |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Partizip Perfekt des Verbs erfüllen | Nominativ Singular Femininum der starken Flexion des Positivs des Adjektivs erfüllt |
Where the eye mixes erfüllt and erfüllte
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence. erfüllt runs 7 letters (VCCVCCC) against erfüllte's 8 (VCCVCCCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses erfüllt with erfüllte
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: erfüllt is [ɛɐ̯ˈfʏlt] while erfüllte is [ɛɐ̯ˈfʏltə]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 extra letter(s) - “erfüllt” sits inside “erfüllte”, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 16336, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
erfüllt is recorded at frequency rank #2,056, classified as averb, pronounced [ɛɐ̯ˈfʏlt]. 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 16336, this pair ranks #1,936,682 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of erfüllt vs erfüllte
Shared letters: eflrtü. Private to "erfüllt": -. Private to "erfüllte": -.
"erfüllt" · 7 letters · shape VCCVCCC · "erfüllte" · 8 letters · shape VCCVCCCV
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "erfüllt" for "erfüllte" ever safe?
Frequency check: "erfüllt" vs "erfüllte" - which ranks higher?
After this comparison
Eye-level mix-up between "erfüllt" and "erfüllte" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "erfüllt" 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 #1,936,682 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "erfüllt" and "erfüllte" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "erfüllte vs erfülltes". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #1,936,682 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.