erkämpfenvserkämpftWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#30,535
“erkämpfen” frequency rank
#23,503
“erkämpft” frequency rank
54038
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature erkämpfen erkämpft
Definition durch Anstrengung gewinnen Partizip Perfekt des Verbs erkämpfen

Where the eye mixes erkämpfen and erkämpft

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence.

9 ch
erkämpfen
8 ch
erkämpft

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. erkämpfen ([ɛɐ̯ˈkɛmp͡fn̩]) and erkämpft ([ɛɐ̯ˈkɛmp͡ft]) 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 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 54038, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

erkämpfen is recorded at frequency rank #30,535, classified as averb, pronounced [ɛɐ̯ˈkɛmp͡fn̩]. erkämpft is at rank #23,503, tagged as averb, pronounced [ɛɐ̯ˈkɛmp͡ft].

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 54038, this pair ranks #1,034,519 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of erkämpfen vs erkämpft

Shared letters: efkmprä. Private to "erkämpfen": n. Private to "erkämpft": t.

"erkämpfen" · 9 letters · shape VCCVCCCVC  ·  "erkämpft" · 8 letters · shape VCCVCCCC

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "erkämpfen" and "erkämpft" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ɛɐ̯ˈkɛmp͡fn̩] versus [ɛɐ̯ˈkɛmp͡ft]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "erkämpfen" or "erkämpft"?
"erkämpft" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #23,503 in our German list, against #30,535 for "erkämpfen". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list