ergangenvsergänzenTell them apart

Which to use

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

#24,698
“ergangen” frequency rank
#7,312
“ergänzen” frequency rank
32010
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature ergangen ergänzen
Definition Partizip Perfekt des Verbs ergehen zur Bereicherung hinzufügen

Where the eye mixes ergangen and ergänzen

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. ergangen and ergänzen follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (VCCVCCVC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.

8 ch
ergangen
8 ch
ergänzen

Look-alike desk: ergangen vs ergänzen

A purely visual mix-up. ergangen ([ɛɐ̯ˈɡaŋən]) and ergänzen ([ɛɐ̯ˈɡɛnt͡sn̩]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 32010, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

ergangen is recorded at frequency rank #24,698, classified as averb, pronounced [ɛɐ̯ˈɡaŋən]. ergänzen is at rank #7,312, tagged as averb, pronounced [ɛɐ̯ˈɡɛnt͡sn̩].

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 32010, this pair ranks #1,716,624 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of ergangen vs ergänzen

Shared letters: egnr. Private to "ergangen": a. Private to "ergänzen": zä.

"ergangen" · 8 letters · shape VCCVCCVC  ·  "ergänzen" · 8 letters · shape VCCVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • ergangen ← egrangen · eragngen · ergagnen · erganegn · ergangenn · erganggen · ergangne · erganngen

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "ergangen" and "ergänzen" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([ɛɐ̯ˈɡaŋən] versus [ɛɐ̯ˈɡɛnt͡sn̩]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "ergangen" vs "ergänzen" - which ranks higher?
"ergänzen" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #7,312 in our German list, against #24,698 for "ergangen". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

Eye-level mix-up between "ergangen" and "ergänzen" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.

  • Full dictionary entry for "ergangen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "ergänzen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,716,624 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "ergangen" and "ergänzen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "ergangen vs ergänze". 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 #1,716,624 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