erhöhenvserhöhtemWhat's the difference?

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

Which to use

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

#2,954
“erhöhen” frequency rank
#29,111
“erhöhtem” frequency rank
32065
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature erhöhen erhöhtem
Definition etwas anheben, steigen lassen, größer machen Dativ Singular Maskulinum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs erhöht

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set erhöhen and erhöhtem apart are highlighted. They share 6 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

7 ch
erhöhen
8 ch
erhöhtem

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: erhöhen is [ɛɐ̯ˈhøːən] while erhöhtem is [ɛɐ̯ˈhøːtəm]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 32065, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

erhöhen is recorded at frequency rank #2,954, classified as averb, pronounced [ɛɐ̯ˈhøːən]. erhöhtem is at rank #29,111, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ɛɐ̯ˈhøːtəm].

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 32065, this pair ranks #1,715,387 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of erhöhen vs erhöhtem

Shared letters: ehrö. Private to "erhöhen": n. Private to "erhöhtem": mt.

"erhöhen" · 7 letters · shape VCCVCVC  ·  "erhöhtem" · 8 letters · shape VCCVCCVC

Frequency comparison

erhöhen#2,954
erhöhtem#29,111

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "erhöhen" and "erhöhtem" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "erhöhen" is a verb and "erhöhtem" an adjective, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "erhöhen" or "erhöhtem"?
"erhöhen" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #2,954 in our German list, against #29,111 for "erhöhtem". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering erhöhen vs erhöhtem

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a verb, it's “erhöhen”; for an adjective, it's “erhöhtem”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “erhöhen” 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