erfülltevserfülltenWhat's the difference?

Which to use

“erfüllte” and “erfüllten” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#14,280
“erfüllte” frequency rank
#22,703
“erfüllten” frequency rank
36983
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature erfüllte erfüllten
Definition Nominativ Singular Femininum der starken Flexion des Positivs des Adjektivs erfüllt Genitiv Singular Maskulinum der starken Flexion des Positivs des Adjektivs erfüllt

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set erfüllte and erfüllten apart are highlighted. They share 8 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

8 ch
erfüllte
9 ch
erfüllten

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. erfüllte ([ɛɐ̯ˈfʏltə]) and erfüllten ([ɛɐ̯ˈfʏltn̩]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they differ by 1 extra letter(s) - “erfüllte” sits inside “erfüllten”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 36983, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

erfüllte is recorded at frequency rank #14,280, classified as anadj, pronounced [ɛɐ̯ˈfʏltə]. 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 36983, this pair ranks #1,601,766 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of erfüllte vs erfüllten

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

"erfüllte" · 8 letters · shape VCCVCCCV  ·  "erfüllten" · 9 letters · shape VCCVCCCVC

Frequency comparison

erfüllte#14,280
erfüllten#22,703

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "erfüllte" and "erfüllten" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ɛɐ̯ˈfʏltə] versus [ɛɐ̯ˈfʏltn̩]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "erfüllte" or "erfüllten"?
"erfüllte" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #14,280 in our German list, against #22,703 for "erfüllten". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering erfüllte vs erfüllten

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Read both glosses above and match the meaning you intend, only context separates this pair.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “erfüllte” 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