Which to use
“erfunden” is a verb and “erfundene” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #4,425
- “erfunden” frequency rank
- #26,388
- “erfundene” frequency rank
- 30813
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | erfunden | erfundene |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Partizip Perfekt des Verbs erfinden | Nominativ Singular Femininum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs erfunden |
Where the eye mixes erfunden and erfundene
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 8 letters in sequence. erfunden runs 8 letters (VCCVCCVC) against erfundene's 9 (VCCVCCVCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Look-alike desk: erfunden vs erfundene
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: erfunden is [ɛɐ̯ˈfʊndn̩] while erfundene is [ɛɐ̯ˈfʊndənə]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 extra letter(s) - “erfunden” sits inside “erfundene”, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 30813, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
erfunden is recorded at frequency rank #4,425, classified as averb, pronounced [ɛɐ̯ˈfʊndn̩]. erfundene is at rank #26,388, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ɛɐ̯ˈfʊndənə].
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 30813, this pair ranks #1,740,563 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of erfunden vs erfundene
Shared letters: defnru. Private to "erfunden": -. Private to "erfundene": -.
"erfunden" · 8 letters · shape VCCVCCVC · "erfundene" · 9 letters · shape VCCVCCVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "erfunden" for "erfundene" ever safe?
Frequency check: "erfunden" vs "erfundene" - which ranks higher?
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 "erfunden" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "erfundene" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,740,563 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "erfunden" and "erfundene" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "empfundene vs erfundene". Nearby pair
- Recorded mistypes exist for at least one side of this pair, useful when a spell-checker or OCR lands on the wrong form. See mistypes
Confusion rank #1,740,563 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.