erheblichvserheblichenWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#3,436
“erheblich” frequency rank
#6,785
“erheblichen” frequency rank
10221
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature erheblich erheblichen
Definition beträchtlich, ins Gewicht fallend, wichtig, ernst Genitiv Singular Maskulinum Positiv der starken Flexion des Adjektivs erheblich

Where the eye mixes erheblich and erheblichen

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 9 letters in sequence. erheblich runs 9 letters (VCCVCCVCC) against erheblichen's 11 (VCCVCCVCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

9 ch
erheblich
11 ch
erheblichen

Why the eye confuses erheblich with erheblichen

A purely visual mix-up. erheblich ([ɛɐ̯ˈheːplɪç]) and erheblichen ([ɛɐ̯ˈheːplɪçn̩]) 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 2 extra letter(s) - “erheblich” sits inside “erheblichen”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 10221, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

erheblich is recorded at frequency rank #3,436, classified as anadj, pronounced [ɛɐ̯ˈheːplɪç]. erheblichen is at rank #6,785, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ɛɐ̯ˈheːplɪçn̩].

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 10221, this pair ranks #1,976,188 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of erheblich vs erheblichen

Shared letters: bcehilr. Private to "erheblich": -. Private to "erheblichen": n.

"erheblich" · 9 letters · shape VCCVCCVCC  ·  "erheblichen" · 11 letters · shape VCCVCCVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • erheblich ← ehreblich · erehblich · erhbelich · erhebblich · erhebilch · erheblcih · erheblicch · erheblichh
  • erheblichen ← ehreblichen · erehblichen · erhbelichen · erhebblichen · erhebilchen · erheblcihen · erheblicchen · erheblicehn

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "erheblich" and "erheblichen" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ɛɐ̯ˈheːplɪç] versus [ɛɐ̯ˈheːplɪçn̩]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "erheblich" vs "erheblichen" - which ranks higher?
"erheblich" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #3,436 in our German list, against #6,785 for "erheblichen". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

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 "erheblich" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "erheblichen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,976,188 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "erheblich" and "erheblichen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "erblich vs erheblich". 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 #1,976,188 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