erfülltvserfülltesTell them apart

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

Which to use

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

#2,056
“erfüllt” frequency rank
#45,249
“erfülltes” frequency rank
47305
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature erfüllt erfülltes
Definition Partizip Perfekt des Verbs erfüllen Nominativ Singular Neutrum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs erfüllt

Where the eye mixes erfüllt and erfülltes

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence. erfüllt runs 7 letters (VCCVCCC) against erfülltes's 9 (VCCVCCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

7 ch
erfüllt
9 ch
erfülltes

Look-alike desk: erfüllt vs erfülltes

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: erfüllt is [ɛɐ̯ˈfʏlt] while erfülltes is [ɛɐ̯ˈfʏltəs]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 2 extra letter(s) - “erfüllt” sits inside “erfülltes”, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 47305, 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]. erfülltes is at rank #45,249, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ɛɐ̯ˈfʏltəs].

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 47305, this pair ranks #1,289,012 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of erfüllt vs erfülltes

Shared letters: eflrtü. Private to "erfüllt": -. Private to "erfülltes": s.

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

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "erfüllt" for "erfülltes" ever safe?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "erfüllt" is a verb and "erfülltes" an adjective, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "erfüllt" or "erfülltes"?
"erfüllt" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #2,056 in our German list, against #45,249 for "erfülltes". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

What to do next

Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.

  • Full dictionary entry for "erfüllt" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "erfülltes" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,289,012 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "erfüllt" and "erfülltes" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "erfüllten vs erfülltes". Nearby pair

Confusion rank #1,289,012 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list