erfülltvserfülltenWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: erfüllt is a verb, erfüllten is an adjective, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“erfüllt” is a verb and “erfüllten” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#2,056
“erfüllt” frequency rank
#22,703
“erfüllten” frequency rank
24759
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature erfüllt erfüllten
Definition Partizip Perfekt des Verbs erfüllen Genitiv Singular Maskulinum der starken Flexion des Positivs des Adjektivs erfüllt

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set erfüllt and erfüllten apart are highlighted. They share 7 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

7 ch
erfüllt
9 ch
erfüllten

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: erfüllt is [ɛɐ̯ˈfʏlt] while erfüllten is [ɛɐ̯ˈfʏltn̩]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 2 extra letter(s) - “erfüllt” sits inside “erfüllten”, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 24759, 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]. 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 24759, this pair ranks #1,843,170 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of erfüllt vs erfüllten

Shared letters: eflrtü. Private to "erfüllt": -. Private to "erfüllten": n.

"erfüllt" · 7 letters · shape VCCVCCC  ·  "erfüllten" · 9 letters · shape VCCVCCCVC

Frequency comparison

erfüllt#2,056
erfüllten#22,703

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "erfüllt" and "erfüllten" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "erfüllt" is a verb and "erfüllten" an adjective, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "erfüllt" or "erfüllten"?
"erfüllt" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #2,056 in our German list, against #22,703 for "erfüllten". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

Remembering erfüllt vs erfüllten

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a verb, it's “erfüllt”; for an adjective, it's “erfüllten”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “erfüllt” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list